Legend of the Dragon Protector - Vol 0: Freedom
by Ryu Mamoru
Summary: Humans are usually ridiculed for being the weakest by the supernatural. Easy to manipulate or a waste. This boy- no, man, named Ryu Mamoru, will prove them wrong by rising up through the ranks of power to crush his obstacles and show them the power of human potential. He will protect those he cares, destroy those who corrupt. He will be... The Dragon Protector. Humanity's defender.
1. Freedom's Prologue

**I'd like to just say I am hyped in writing my first story and it hopefully goes as well as my head has been picturing it. On another note, after reviewing my story, I decided to add the first two chapters together to make it longer and to make a decent introduction out of it.**** I do hope you enjoy it and I shall begin with my very first disclaimer I've ever done along with the mark of my first published story ever. I do not own Highschool DxD. I only own my proud creation, Ryu Mamoru.**

"I refuse to give up!" – Speech  
_"I can't keep up…" – Thoughts/Speech during Flashback  
_**[Hang in there!]/[Boost!] – Ddraig speaking aloud  
**_**[Through the thick and thin, partner!] – Ddraig through thoughts**_

* * *

_**Flashback: In the year of 2005, In a city in Japan called "Kuoh City"…**_

_A kid, a man, and a woman were walking down a street in the middle of the night, no doubt just strolling and certainty was that the man and woman were husband and wife from the identical and beautiful diamond rings each one has on their ring finger. The kid, on the other hand, was obviously their son. He had that unruly, spiky, and messy hair of brown, just like his father, though now, his father's hair was more tamed and dumbed down in the spiky and messy level. The child's eyes, they were shiny, brown orbs of curiosity, same color as his mother's eyes and has her features mixed with his father's._

_The child giggles. "It's so nice in the night!" Both his mother and father smile at their 7 year old child's enthusiasm. "I couldn't agree more, Ryu. The night, cool air just lets me breathe more at ease. Great for jogging." Spoke the father while the mother scoffed in response, "If it wasn't infested with horrible people. We're only here because our son wanted to end his birthday on a night walk."_

_The child giggled at their interactions before looking ahead and seeing a ball of colorful, yet dark energy before it all goes white… Then fire consumes his vision. Red fire. Along with a western, Welsh dragon that is red colored, like its flames, while its emerald and shining eyes stare at the shell-shocked boy, eyes speaking of sympathy and sadness that was towards the child. **[I'm deeply sorry for what you had gone through… Partner. One such as you should not be put through this torment. If only I could have done something to help... If only I could grant you the power you needed...] **Then the child's vision blackened._

* * *

_**Year 2012, Kuoh City…**_

A child that looked of age 14 bolted up from his bed of that dream again that dated all the way back to 7 years. Sweat coming down from his forehead and panting silently. "…." The child seems like he's talking to himself, but no words come out, concerned about those dreams that soon turn to nightmares before seeing that same gargantuan dragon of epic and awesome proportions. He would actually sometimes just have dreams of that dragon only and talk to it, confused if the dreams were real or not. He even started hearing that dragon's voice sometimes during the day! He shakes his head from his thoughts and silent mumbling before getting out of bed and head downstairs, wearing just a gray shirt and blue shorts. Some may be wondering on who this child was, yes? Allow me to introduce him. His name, Ryu Mamoru. Orphan at the age of 7, now 14. He's been fending for himself for 7 years. Why by himself and not at an orphanage or with family members, you ask? Well… No one remembers his parents. No one remembers him either. They seem to even ignore his existence, almost like he was nonexistent. Even when officers look in his direction, they ignore him or for a better word… Don't notice him.

Now? He is in a recently abandoned house that was two floors and since it was abandoned, there was no water supply, no electricity, no food. Though, he has been taking food and supplies from stores as it seems they don't even notice him taking them! It flabbergasted the child in how he was able to take food, water, and supplies. He would not take anything more than necessary thanks to his parents telling him to "only take what you need" and to "never steal." The last part was excusable since no one ever seemed to notice him whenever he attempted to speak with anyone and he needed supplements and other necessities to survive.

First off in his things to survive his life by himself, he had a cooler with a bunch of ice to keep the food and liquids like milk, orange juice, water, and other things cold. Secondly, he used the stove's oven for wood and fire to cook stuff. Thirdly, with this one sounding far-fetched, has some, if not few, trees and plants being grown in the backyard of the house that has fruits and vegetables! Even if he learned from mother dearest who's past along with gardening books he took along with educational books to keep up his knowledge with his growth and actually exceeding his capacity at knowledge for his age, how could this kid manage this!? Answer is simple: Humans are known one of their two most powerful abilities a human has, which is… Adaptation. Humans these days no longer use that as effective as they should, but when applied with enough pressure along with the right motivation, their adaptation skills are top notch, no argument. Humans have both the ability to think _and _have instincts, with animals only having instincts. It's just a matter of using the two or just one effectively.

One last thing you need to know about this young child is that he is a freerunner at heart. He enjoyed doing simple tricks like cartwheels, to even flips, which did freak his parents out when he did that at the age of 6 when he was on a swing set, and launched himself in the air. Naturally, he began freerunning on rooftops at the age of 13 because he believed himself to be responsible since his was thir_teen_ after convincing himself he was now a teen. It's quite awesome to have the adrenaline when doing these things if one would have to be honest. Even though, he had some near death situations during his first year of trying the dangers of the arts of freerunning or parkour as people like to say. Believe me, this does play a large part in his future.

"!?" Ryu swiftly turns around as he heard the sound of footsteps rustling in the backyard and quietly approaches a window that shows the backyard, now seeing two females and the strangest parts are… The one with back-length black haired female having cat ears with _two tails that swish from left to right_ and the ears were frequently _twitching_ while the white and shoulder-length haired counterpart had ears as well, though, she only had one white tail unlike the other, whom the black one seemed to be two years older than the white one, most likely his age. He notices them eating his apples also, so he gets an idea and smiles happily before silently walking to the kitchen and begins preparing hot dogs for the nice looking ladies, hoping they will notice him.

* * *

_**With the Two "Ladies"…**_

"Kuroka, don't you think it's strange how there is healthy vegetation yet the house looks recently abandoned?" Asked the white haired one to the black haired counterpart, now named 'Kuroka.' "Nya, you worry too much, Shirone-chan~" Spoke Kuroka to her color opposite while waving that worry away, whose name is revealed to be 'Shirone.' "Plus, nya, it's not abandoned. There's someone living here, nya." Shirone frowns at her casually dismissive manner. "That's exactly it though. The person… Their aura gives something that screams 'untapped potential.' Plus, it's just wrong to do this."

Kuroka pauses in eating, now remembering how their _former_ master told them about those who wield Sacred Gears having that kind of atmosphere and aura around them. The more powerful the Sacred Gear, the stronger the aura is and this one seemed to be _big_ when they were close enough to detect it.

She was taking out of her memories and thoughts when they heard footsteps and turned towards it, both ears perked up at seeing a boy, same age as Kuroka, holding two plates with hot dogs on each and glasses of milk, next to the hot dogs on the plates also as he carefully balances them before stopping to stare at them back. Brown eyes meeting feline yellowish golden eyes. His eyes widening not of their animalistic features, but because their actually making _eye contact_ with him.

"….!" Ryu comes out of his shock and smiles before holding out the plates to them. "To us, nya?" Kuroka questions as Ryu excitedly nods multiple times. Kuroka and Shirone both don't smell poison on the food within the dish, even though the poison that affects normal humans would not affect supernatural beings in the slightest molecular level and they decided to approach the male and take the two plates and glass, one for each other. "Thank you." Shirone smiles at the stranger's kindness.

"…." Ryu tries to speak before realizing he _can't_ and takes out his nifty, pocket sized notepad and led pencil before scribbling on it and shows it to them. "You're welcome!" Shirone gasps at the realization and was about to ask the big question before Kuroka oh so ceremoniously beat her to the punch… "You can't speak?" Leaving out the "nya" as she usually does so when it's something serious which Ryu sadly nods to them either way before proceeding to show a scar that was on his neck. It looked like an intense fireball that was going at the speed of a bullet, passed by him his neck and grazed him. "I'm sorry for bringing it up, nya…" Kuroka's ears and tails droop. "It's okay." Ryu still smiles nonetheless as he shows them what he wrote down and proceeds to scribble again. "My name is Ryu Mamoru by the way!"

Kuroka and Shirone smile at his enthusiasm but the sadness still crept up on them on the possibility he could be parent-less even if nothing was said that involved his parents. "I'm Kuroka Toujou, nya~" Kuroka smiles before sitting down and began to graciously eat. "Shirone Toujou. Thank you for the food." Shirone bows respectfully before eating as well, sitting down next to Kuroka along with drinking the milk.

Ryu notices their ruined attire which seemed to be originally kimonos. Then, he began thinking how they could be alone too, save for the fact they still had each other, though lonely still. "…." Ryu starts thinking. "!" He began to frantically write on his mini notepad and shows it to them with gusto, causing them to gasp when they looked at what he wrote. "U-um… Really…?" Shirone quivers at the thought of having a place where they can stay without using magic to manipulate minds which would make them easier to track. Her response was a series of rapid nods. Kuroka, in the meantime, was smiling at the graceful generosity of this boy, knowing he is trustworthy and kind already. "Then it's settled, nya~! We'll even help you around the house and stuff, nya~!"

Thus, marked the beginning of the tale of the human known as the "Dragon Protector," Ryu Mamoru.

* * *

_**Timeskip: Year 2015, Kouh City Streets.**_

Many, many things changed during the passing of these 3 years ever since he met Kuroka and Shirone. A lot of things changed. But enough of stretching that fact and exaggerating it. Currently, we have an 18 year old Ryu Mamoru jumping from rooftop to rooftop like the professional freerunner he became. Now a handsome young man with his never-changing messiness and spikiness that was his hair, narrowed eyes with brown orbs in them, and a tanned look to his skin due to his Mexican blood.

He started earning large amounts of money via parkour competitions which he thanked his training and meditation given by a certain someone and among other things. He has grown more self-reliant once he recreated his documents from scratch with the magical help of Kuroka and Shirone back when he was still 14. Now, he finally has a name, driver's license, gets recognized by people, and now is able to pay his own bills and does so wonderfully at that too once that age of 18 hit right then and there. He couldn't recreate his parent's documents as he would then have to explain how they're not really 'forged,' per say since he'd had to go deep, deep into his family's history then, but! He finally got into a middle school, then to a high school, and decided to spend his third and last year at the famous and prestigious school, Kuoh Academy.

So now, our chosen one _could_ have used his motorcycle, buuuuuut he decided to go through with the way of freerunning. It's calmer that way and he gets the chance to memorize routes. He smiles when spots the giant high school and leaps from the building he's in before rolling to absorb impact which would not have bothered him anyway. With the smile still plastered on his face, he stands to his full height of 5'7" which is ridiculously close to 5'8" and having the obligatory jacket and pants of the dress code with his own additions which are a red shirt with the awesome dragon head on it and gloves that fully protect the hands with the usual running shoes that are colored red as well.

After reviewing his clothing to check it's not bad, he smiles to himself, and begins walking to the entrance with grace. That _was_ the plan but…

"Eh? Who's that?"

"Oh my, look at his adorable yet handsome face."

"That hair~!"

"The eyes~ They look so dreamy~"

A blink was performed.

Then one last blink for good measure.

Proceeds to place palms on hears and rubs them to clear of any mistakes he could have heard.

The patronizing is still there.

What?

Okay, moving on. Ryu keeps on walking until…

"Damn, another Bishounen…"

"One is already more than enough, now _two_!?"

"If only I could get my hands on their necks… Grumble, grumble…"

…. Ryu looks down in sadness as he continues walking, he never liked upsetting people and always wanted to solve things peacefully when possible. The sappy sadness, of course, would continue for only so long. Especially, when everything became red like when the tint on a television is switched to red while everything else vanished, leaving him in the sea of bottomless red.

_**FWOOOOOOOM!**_

Fire. Red fire, to be exact, surrounded him and the unending area. This… Was his physique when he spoke to a certain someone who was mentioned before. Where two souls meet.

He turned around.

And smiled.

Before him was the being who's power rivaled only one other and below just two other beings that belonged to his race.

The dragons.

And this one, was Ddraig, the Red Dragon Emperor. Who resides in the Sacred Gear, Boosted Gear. While his might was said to rival an Elder God, Lucifer of the Devils, the Governor-General of the Fallen Angels, or the Leader of the Archangels, that was only his _basic_ level along with his rival. But that's a story for another time and a subject that will be spoken about and revealed in due time.

Ddraig stares at him intently before speaking. _**[They are simply jealous of you, partner. Your looks; your charisma, was something that was earned through your hardships and training. If they want what you have, they need to work for it. Remember that.] **_His scaly mouth twitches upwards, showing a smile. A sincere one. Ryu smiled with equal sincerity before the environment returns to normal and Ryu continued walking and waving at both males and females.

* * *

_**School Time, at Class 3-A**_

A mature, brunette teacher with the usual attire for female teachers stands next to her desk, waiting for the students to take their seats, then proceeds to adjust her own square glasses. "Class, we have a new student. I must also warn that he lacks the ability to speak, so please, be considerate." The teacher nods approvingly at the silence. "You may come in." The door slides open and Ryu walks in with a relaxed posture before proceeding to write my name on the board, placing the the chalkboard down, I swiftly turn, and bow with respect yet with a welcoming smile.

Rias and Sona, on the hand, were having thoughts running in their heads. _"There's that aura about him. 'Potential.' It's pretty influencing too, so maybe it's unlocked or it's still locked and it's powerful even in its sealed state. Hmm… There were no reports of one with a Sacred Gear, so perhaps he's at least not hostile. Plus, no holy or demonic aura, so maybe he's just a regular human? Interesting…"_

This was on Rias' mind.

Sona's, on the other hand… _"No doubt, a Sacred Gear. But I know he doesn't seem like the bad type. Especially, since there were no reports of anyone hostile that wields a Sacred Gear. But if he unlocked it, then he must know of the supernatural, so perhaps the spying approach is not a good choice. Even if there is no holy or demonic energy in him."_ Thoughts were just grinding more and more in their minds.

The potential for a valuable asset in their Peerage was there. It was not just who made their first move, it also included the effectiveness of their plan to acquire their Peerage member to go along with their first move and back it up.

Meanwhile, the two were in their thoughts, Ryu sat down on his seat, next to the window near the back. "Sigh…" The only sound he could make at the moment that's appropriate. A sigh. One of the few things that didn't require the usage of a voice box. The environment turns red again, just without the flames as Ddraig's massive form is behind Ryu. _**[Partner, I'm sure you have noticed but there are quite literally four Devils right next to you. Two High Class, or Rank 3, as you put it. The other must be their Queens. Also Rank 3's. Tread carefully, this is not something you should take lightly, even with your current arsenal.] **_Ryu nods at the advice given by Ddraig.

* * *

_**After School**_

Ryu prepares to pack his things, the homework given is relatively easy and prepares to leave, ignoring the swift glances out of the the Kings and their Queens, and sighs when he finally reaches outside, glad the tense atmosphere was gone.

"Ryu?"

He stops, halts, even for breathing, he pauses.

Is his ears are truly betraying him and playing some sick game? Was it really the voice of who he thought it was.

One way to find out.

And find out he did. And what he found is nearly making a sobbing mess.

Shirone Toujou, dressed in the Kouh Academy dress, now at the height of 5'4" with a slim yet curvy figure, which a part of him wonders how she always remained so thin after eating so many snacks, and breasts with the size that barely fell behind Rias, something that she complained sometimes back then about lacking size in her chest, but nonetheless, it was Shiro. One of the most trusted people that he lost at the age 15…

* * *

_**Flashback, Two Years Ago…**_

_Ryu was busy gardening after cooking a meal for everyone, Kuroka reading magazines on the couch, and Shirone eating her snacks._

_**Ding-Dong~**_

_Ryu's eyes immediately narrowed at hearing this. How did the doorbell work when the power was cut off? That shouldn't be possible. Nevertheless, he drops his gardening tools and approaches the door and as soon as he opened, he was greeted with a fist to the stomach, cracking his ribs, and causing a bile mixed with blood to come right out of his mouth before being launched back to the garden via a wall that had now a hole. Kuroka and Shirone both gasp and shout at the same time his name, "RYU!" Kuroka and Shirone's eyes widened at the aura the two Devils were putting off._

_Ultimate Class, or referred to Rank 4, courtesy of Ryu to make ranking easier. One male, other female._

_Kuroka gritted her teeth. Yes, she was at that level too, but dealing with two simultaneously while they have undoubtedly years of combat. She got hers from experimentation and constant practice with Senjutsu along with her demonic energy. Sure, she has combat expertise, but she's still only 15! Shiro was barely getting to High Class._

_This wasn't good. Not good at all._

"_Kuroka Toujou. Shirone Toujou. You are to come with us. Retaliate and we will use force," spoke the woman Devil. Kuroka and Shirone look at each other before back to where Ryu was, sensing his life force was stable. Shirone looks at the two. "C-can we just heal him first…?" The two Devils glanced at each other before looking back at the two. "Very well, but you both, move it. So much of a twitch of resistance, and your friend will be obliterated." Kuroka mentally curses at that. Here she was, the supposedly strong one, now reduced to having to leave someone who welcomed her with open arms. "Shirone… Let's patch up Ryu, then leave…" Shirone looked horrified before looking down and nodding._

_**Flashback End**_

* * *

While he was reminiscing the memory, the two were already hugging with tears rolling down their cheeks. Ryu remembered the punch, knowing it was _immensely_ held back, still knocked him out, and by the the time he woke up, they were gone. "Sniff, I missed you so much…" Ryu kept silently crying before finally saying, "I missed you too…" That's when Shirone paused and looked up with a shocked look at him. She _understood_ what he just said. She didn't hear his voice, but still understood. For a better term, 'hearing' subtitles. Ryu looked confused before mouthing a "What?" Tilting at innocent curiosity, though tears still streamed down their cheeks. "I… Understood you." "!?" Eyes were widened, shocked looks were made, and confusion was felt.

Shirone shakes her head and pushes Ryu away before continuing, "I'm sorry, Ryu, but I have to go. You don't need Rias seeing us like this. For good reason. I'll see you tomorrow." With that, she quickly walks away. "…." He was crestfallen until Ddraig's voice rang out in his head. _**[She did a smart move. I'm not sure if you could tell, but she's bound to that Gremory. If that doesn't give away hints, she was making sure Rias didn't use her as bait on you. It would seems logical. I know I am not for one to judge, but Devils are natural embodiments of the Seven Sins, even without realizing it, they **_**could**_** potentially do something regretful out of selfish acts. Though there may be those that mean well, they **_**still can**_** act on their inborn nature. Consciously or not. Basically, keep your guard up. partner. I am well aware of Peerages and how they function.]**_The entire time, Ryu was just walking away, taking Ddraig's advice to heart. Not noticing the sun setting as he walked by the bridge.

"Um… A-are you… Ryu Mamoru, by any chance?" "…?" Ryu slowly turns around to come face to face with the one who has drawn his attention.

_**To be continued…**_

* * *

_**Ryu Mamoru Short!**_

Ryu walks in the white walled room that resembles a classroom with a whiteboard for markers to be drawn on. Soon after walking in, the back of my begins to glow, signifying Ddraig speaking. **[Today, it will be partner and I speaking about the power scale system of this Highschool DxD. Partner, if you would.] **Ryu nods and starts writing on the board with a black marker from Low Class which he puts for Rank 1, to Middle Class is Rank 2, to High Class is Rank 3, then Ultimate/Demi-God Class is Rank 4, God/Maou/Cadre/Seraphim Class are Rank 5, and finally, Elder God/Lucifer/Governor-General/Archangel Class are Rank 6. **[Now, pay attention. The Rank 1's are naturally on the bottom, so we start there. Rank 1 entities may be weak, but when fighting conventional weapons, meaning man-made weapons like the modern weapons, won't work. A Rank 1 entity can actually walk away from a nuclear bomb explosion and walk away with singe marks, some sting, and some muscle pain from a **_**nuclear missile. **_**While it is true that modern man-made are deadly, they are not deadly to those of the supernatural. Like it or not. Moving on, Rank 2 entities, are 10x more powerful than Rank 1 in every of the four main aspects which are Strength, Speed, Endurance, and Magic. Rank 3's, are 50x stronger than Rank 2's. Rank 4's, however, are 100x stronger than Rank 3 entities. Hmhmhm. Here comes the jaw opening part. At that point, Rank 5 entities are **_**1000x stronger than Rank 4's**_**. And finally, Rank 6's are 2x – 5x stronger than Rank 5's. Of course, there are pseudo Rank 4 that are in between Ranks 4 and 5, so Ryu considers them as Rank 4.5. Believe us when we say to memorize this, you won't get confused in future fights if you do, as boring as this might seem.] **And with that note, Ryu waves with a smile before walking away.

* * *

**Now how was that? Let's start off with this: Ryu's power on his own without any weapons like the Boosted Gear, is on Rank 2. The dumb rule of needing stamina for 'Boosts' or 'Divides' or usage of any Sacred Gear is done and over with and replaced with a better fuel. Willpower. The sheer willpower. No matter what gives you the reason for your determination, if you fuel that to your Sacred Gear, you receive its power. **_**THAT **_**right there, is what I think a true Sacred Gear's power is. But unto the questions that will be asked, I will only say this: Shirone did go through the nasty execution process, but was saved by Rias to be sure. That never changed. And I do believe Rias collected Issei in the beginning out of greedy intentions. Like it or not. She then uses Issei's perversion against him in the beginning to make him train harder. Later on, she did begin having feelings for him, but keep in mind that she did have not-so-good intentions at first. There were Fallen Angels in her territory, which she could have told them to scatter off somewhere else beforehand. If they didn't, it could assuredly be accused as an act of war, which they want to avoid. Instead, used them so she can recruit Issei. You may go ahead and tell me via reviews or private messaging about what you think in this subject. I am also changing how the power scales work. I'm not going to be making gods so powerful as they originally were. Fallen Angels, Devils, and Angels with enough power, can match them. Especially, the leaders of the 3 Great Powers.**


	2. Confusion, Conspiracy, and Training

**Alright! I thought I'd put those two that I combined chapters up just for introductory. It was maybe fast-paced which I hope is not the case or that bothered you all. But no more! This will be the mark of the **_**true**_** chapters to begin! More in-depth into the characters. Longer chapters! Combat will finally be involved!**

**Ryu's appearance: Akihito Mizuwa.**

**Disclaimer: I do **_**not**_** own Highschool DxD!**

"I refuse to give up!" – Speech  
_"I can't keep up…" – Thoughts/Speech during Flashback  
_**[Hang in there!]/[Boost!] – Ddraig speaking aloud  
**_**[Through the thick and thin, partner!] – Ddraig through thoughts/Speech during Flashback**_

* * *

**Opening: Sympathy by Larval Stage Planning**

**(Tomo ni mou ichido tachiagare ****mamore hitotsu no inochi…) **The camera shows Ryu landing on the ground and narrowing his eyes at the Peerage of Riser as they prepare themselves for combat. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he charges at them and the green gem begins to glow.

**(****Tayasanu yo niiii!) **The glow stopped and the upcoming clash is replaced with the picture of the Boosted Gear itself across the screen horizontally and the title appears in the middle.

**_"古伝の竜守る Vol 0: 不羈 (Legend of the Dragon Protector, Vol 0: Freedom)"_**

Then the gauntlet and title turn to shiny green particles.

**(****Futatabi otozureta yoake ni me ga samete kimi wo omoi dasu yume no tochuu) **The particles vanished to show the ORC Club and scrolls from left to right to show Rias to Kiba, Akeno, Asia, and finally to Shirone and Kuroka. All of them smiling towards the camera.

**(Me no mae no zanzo susumanai ashidori ****toozakatte yuku hiriki na boku) **Once more, the scenery switched to the Student Council Room and scrolled from right to left this time to show Sona, Tsubaki, Saji, Momo, Reya, Tsubasa, Rukuro, and Tomoe, all smiling at the camera as well.

**(Taisetsu na mono wa doko ni aru? ****Ashita wo shinjiru nara wasurenaide!) **The screen returned back to Ryu charging towards Riser's Peerage and the camera panned to the females and zooms past them and closes in on Riser's smirking face.

**(Ima koso saa inochi wo kakete susumi dasu toki****omoi ga tsuyoi hodo tsuyokunaru!)** Ryu dodges, parries, and counters the attacks of the servants in the Phenex's Peerage and heads straight for Riser after dealing with the females.

**(Hengen suru tsugihagi darake no risou dewa****sugu ni kiete shimau kara!) **Riser flies up in the air with his fire wings and Ryu follows suit with his energy being released through the sole of his feet and shoes and clash high in the sky with fist against fist, kicks against kick, and yellowish colored fires against copper colored lasers.

**(Towa e tsuzuku kawasu chikai****furue dashita karada no soko kara!) **Ryu slowly held up his Sacred Gear and the jewel shines once more with a light so intense that made Riser cover his eyes from its intensity. Red flames spread around Ryu's entire body and an armored silhouette slowly makes it appearance within the flames with emerald green eyes piercing through the red fire.

**End opening song**

* * *

_**Afterschool time, Kouh Bridge: Ryu**_

I stare at the woman in front of me, wearing some type of school uniform I've never seen. And I've been in quite a few schools. Beautiful black hair that reached down the end of her back, glistening orbs of purple in her eyes, and adorable face that was added with a pink color on her cheeks. Red jacket with the letter 'P' where her heart is and it's colored golden along with the jacket's linings, a dull green skirt, knee high socks with shoes that you simply put on and place the strap on across your foot, and that's it.

I really want a pair of running shoes like that right about now.

I can tell there's some sort of plan involved in this. I may not be experienced in the art of sensing since Ddraig is still teaching me that but I can definitely tell something. I turn to face her and she's blushing up more from that single action. I know I shouldn't be, but I'm lost here.

* * *

_**ORC (Occult Research Club): Rias and Akeno**_

Rias is currently looking at the files of this man, Ryu Mamoru. Good grades, well in sports, has a talent of freerunning, and…. Oh. What's this? It says his parents went missing. Strange… He was with them at the age of 7 until something happened… It doesn't say what though. Why would they abandon him? Then there's the fact that he went to an orphanage at the age of 15. He should have been in an orphanage sooner. What happened? She folds the documentation and intertwines her fingers with each other before resting her chin against her said hands and fingers.

"Hmm… Akeno." "Hai?" Akeno Himejima, a black haired female that reached down to her calves which is why she keeps it tied in a ponytail with an orange ribbon. Purple colored eyes filled of mischief and an incredibly well-developed buxom body. She was friends with Rias Gremory, who's the next heir of the Gremory Clan and known for that clan's power whom are all known for their crimson hair which her hair reached past her hips and had a strand that stuck out or better known as an "Ahoge" or "Idiot Hair," and a family trait that was a power called the "Power of Desrtuction" that was shared among the Bael Clan also while Akeno was known for her deadly thunder affinity, earning her the nickname "Priestess of Thunder." Rias also has teal colored eyes and an equally developed buxom body.

"What else do you know about him?" Akeno gains a thoughtful expression at that question. "Umm…. Other than it's confirmed he has a Sacred Gear by Sona. He also lived alone for most of his life since 7." Rias stares in the distance, now contemplating. "I see…" Rias' eyes momentarily widen in surprise when her phone went off. After shaking off the shock, she takes out her phone from her skirt's pocket, and takes the call, seeing the Phone ID was Sona. "Sona?" Rias inquires. "Rias, I wanted to let you know on some news. There are Fallen Angels in our territory." Rias does not miss the stiffness in Akeno's posture before continuing to ask. "How long have you known?" "For a month. I just wanted to make sure it was the same ones. What do you think we should do?" Sona inquires back.

"…. Let them do what they so wish for a while longer. We'll confront them ourselves soon enough."

There was a dead silence from the other line before an exasperated sigh, almost saying that she knew what Rias was planning. "You better know what you're doing, Rias." "Trust me, I do." Sona hangs up after the conversation ended there and Rias pocketed her phone. Akeno, however, started up another conversation shortly after, "Buchou, I recognize that contemplative look. What are you planning?" Rias thinks, "Hmm… Some things don't add up." Akeno's expressions scrunch up in confusion. Don't add up? What does Rias mean? "What do you mean 'Add up'?" Rias glances at Akeno before answering, "I might not be the best, but I do know how to sense Sacred Gears in humans and I should be able to sense them from long distances. His, however, was only detectable once he came in the classroom."

Akeno's eyes widened after thinking about it. The more she thought of it, the more it made sense. "So there's no doubt he has that Sacred Gear unlocked?" Rias nods. "Or, there's something else to it. But you can sense there is actual effort being put to suppress and mask it. No matter the Sacred Gear, those who have learned to sense them, can tell, even from long distances. Or perhaps I could be lying. I'll have to check with Nii-san about this." Akeno just sweat drops with a nervous smile and laugh, thinking in how she called her brother by 'Nii-san' instead of his name or title since Rias keeps claiming how he's so annoying.

* * *

_**Back with Ryu**_

So… Here I am, just standing on a bridge, sun is setting, and there is apparently a girl fidgeting in front of me while mustering words into sentences. _**[Exercise caution. She is a Fallen Angel.] **_Fallen Angel? I approach her while taking out my handy note pad to scribble on before showing it, "Hello! My name's Ryu Mamoru, nice to meetcha! What's your name?" I smile during my own little introduction while Yuuma's eyes widen and fidgets more in embarrassment. "I-... I didn't know you couldn't speak…" I wave my hand in dismissal before motioning her to continue. "O-oh, r-right! My name is Y-Yuuma Am-Amano and I just… Wanted to ask you a question…" I tilt my head to the side, a motion that asks "What is it?" Yuuma understood the body language and continues, "W-well… I… Was just wondering…. Are you seeing anyone right now?" I console Ddraig for advice. _"…"_ Ddraig seemed to have heard my plea and I hear him in my head, _**[There are many things that could be it. She could actually be asking you for a genuine relationship. Continue the conversation for me to better analyze.] **_And once more, in real time, our conversation was near instantaneous, great for avoiding suspicion. I focus back on Yuuma and shake my head, deciding to go along in advice of Ddraig. "Great! It's be-because… Well… I see you cross this bridge ever since you were in middle school and um…"

Wait.

Stop it right there.

_Middle school_?

…. I don't know what to think of this, so I listen to her continue. "And well… I want you to be my boyfriend!" _**[Middle school? They shouldn't be able to sense the Sacred Gear, I-] **_I turn to face him in my psyqiue, my mouth moving but as usual, no words come out._"….?" __**[Nothing, nothing... I almost let it slip…] **_Ddraig mumbles the last part to himself before continuing. _**[Statistic wise, accept it. If she is doing this for what I think she's doing this for, then simply go along with it. It's better than having the possibility of a sneak attack if you reject the offer.] **_I nod mentally to that before smiling towards Yuuma, which she smiles happily, "So that's a yes?" I nod with gusto. "Great! Here, my number~" As she says so, she gives me a paper with a phone number on it. "So…. Text me when we can start dating! I'll see you later! Bye!" She dashes off as she says so. I sigh and pocket the phone number, I'm a bit nervous about this… _**[Relax, partner. Here, I'll tell you a joke. What did Lucifer say to God after he said, 'Let there be Light'?"] **__"….?" __**[No, he said, 'Could you turn it down, it's too bright'! Haha!]**_

…..

Alrighty then.

Moving on from puns, I walk back to my new home which is again, a two floor building, red colored because I like it and I like to stand out. The _inside_, on one hand, as I open the door, it shows a large living room that's next to the equally large kitchen, a bedroom in the first floor, two more in the second floor, and the almighty bathroom along with the two bedrooms upstairs.

One should never underestimate or anger the toilet. If you do, it will punish you with splashes to your bum-bum or not accept the offering you bring.

….. Sigh…

I won't blame you if you decide to lash out on me for that horrible and smelly pun.

….. Moving on, as usual. The TV is actually an HDTV, two luxurious couches of soft awesomeness, and the comfy seat of epicness that tilts back and lets you rest your legs too.

Being a winner in those parkour competitions does have its rewards. Though, it's heartbreaking in Shirone and Kuroka not being here with me… Which reminds me, was Kuroka okay? I never asked Shirone that question too. I was too caught up in my tears. Aside from that, I head to my room upstairs after closing and locking the front door, showing in my room that there is another HDTV on the wall with the consoles like the DS, Playstation, and Wii with the games of their respective consoles in the shelf below the TV. I'm not a fan of Wii, but there are games only accessible through it. Aside from the consoles and TV that's on one side of the room, on the opposite, is my bed. Nice, comfy, and I get to snooze nicely. Finally, in front of me, are mini-shelves of books like manga or American action/adventure, comedy, and slash or romance stories.

But I'm not doing either of those. Not yet at least. There is a reason why I even have power in the first place and that's what I'm about to show.

**[Boost!] **

The infamous Boosted Gear appears on my left arm, in its red, clawed stage covering his entire forearm and then some yellow, jagged spikes jutted out from each side of the gauntlet with green, glowing symbols along and the foreboding jewel that rests on top where the back of his hand is on the armored gauntlet to boot. Even by Boosted Gear standards, the gauntlet was larger and bulkier than usual, including in making his now clawed hand look big. You might be wondering, 'How did he achieve past Twice Critical if you never had a serious fight? In fact, how did he even achieve it in the first place when there was no life and death situation?' Let's start with a flashback.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

_15 years old already and I was sad, hurt, and broken emotionally. I lost the two people I cared for and they cared back. I didn't think I had anyone else._

_Until that dream happened again._

_Here I was now, standing in nothingness with red flames touching me harmlessly and the dragon staring at me. So I did the one thing someone my age and situation would do._

_Look for comfort._

_So I did, I ran up to the dragon and hugged his long and scaly neck, greatly surprising the dragon itself. But he did not mind it at all. In fact, he lowered his head and let the me embrace his muzzle instead. I didn't care if it was a dream or not, I just wanted to find something to release my sadness and replace it with happiness._

_Then, it happened._

_A green glow appeared in this adolescent's hand, which was a gauntlet of sorts. It covered half of his forearm with its bulk and size with a jewel where the top of his hand is, and two yellow and curved spikes to go with it and my fingers uncovered. The main color? Red. Like this dragon. Speaking of which, it lifted its head back up and stared at the boy in wonder. __**[It appears you have unlocked your power that has been dormant. Even by human standards, you are powerful. It must be from all the training you call 'parkour' did. I am impressed... Partner.] **__The dragon was about to continue, until I broke then and there, holding my gauntlet'd hand and fell to the ground with tears streaming._

_**[… Partner.]**_

_My distraught was stopped in order to look at the dragon. __**[Instead of crying, why do you not become powerful? Achieve the power you so wish to protect those you deem friends, to smite your foes, and burst forth through the blockade in your road of life? There are many beings: Angels, Fallen Angels, Devils, Gods, Youkai, Dragons and so forth… You have the power and potential to fight against such foes. To cease in your constant suffering and bring judgement on those who wronged. Then, tell the world through your actions, that humans are not to be trifled with!] **__The dragon spread open his wings to emphasize that point, making my eyes rejuvenate back to their former shine before nodding._

_I woke up from the dream right after, but shock filled my eyes once more when I saw the gauntlet still there along with the voice that rang out from the God made weapon. __**[You will learn to obtain power, master it, and increase it to never ending levels. I will be there to help you, I will guide you, and be the hand on your shoulder, supporting you. Your sacrifice to me for this, is your determination.] **I nod__ before raising his gauntlet up and the booming and powerful voice spoke once more, saying the word that will forever be etched into my memories._

_**[Boost!]**_

_**Flashback End**_

* * *

Here I was, 'Boosting' my power. As Ddraig was before he was sealed. His power, was never ending. He had the ability to continuously increase his power, which was the trait that carried over to the Sacred Gear he was sealed on. Which, Ddraig and I took advantage of. As all natural Twice Criticals, they could increase power to a small extent. Power I learned to use to my advantage. I absorbed the 'Boosts' themselves, permanently increasing my power. Now, it's understandable if someone asks, yells, or screams out, 'How is that even possible!?' There are three things that were needed to be done to make it possible.

First off, I sat down with my legs crossed in meditation as the gauntlet kept increased my power until I could do no longer hold it. That's when we focused. The second part, was that Ddraig, using our tight bond which I always strengthened it by always communicating and being open to him, linked his emotions with mine to empower the ability to contain the power. Thirdly, the Sacred Gear responded to the wielder's desires, which, makes the power increase even more possible along with the fact Ddraig is linked to me to help me, causing the Sacred Gear to take that in as extra desire and in turn, making the process easier. Whether the Sacred Gear confuses Ddraig as me or not when we're linked is still a mystery to us. After this process is done, I will naturally shut down in suspension to accustom myself to the power. It used to take a day for me to awaken, now it's just a few hours from being used to it even if _during_ the process of absorbing the Boosts still makes it take up the rest of the day.

There was one thing that helped the most though. The other most powerful ability a human has: Evolution. Humans can evolve, no matter what trait it is, they can continue to better themselves and keep going nonstop because they can evolve. And Sacred Gears were made to follow that evolutionary trait of humans to help them grow in power. Something that the supernatural lacks. Supernatural beings can't seem to evolve. They can increase themselves in power, sure, but not in evolution or adaptation.

You don't see a Devil evolving from Light Poison.

But maybe there is at least one race that perhaps had the two traits human had. Maybe.

Then, with my acquired power, I goes off to do my usual freerun. With a few additions, of course. I use the Boosts to increase strain on me physically, magically, and mentally along with my newly acquired magic energy to add suppressants to my own body. I would do this to get my body used to the absorbed power along with increasing my current power on my own through training myself as I did this. I naturally have the Sacred Gear activated and in the open for me to Boost as I parkour from rooftop to the nex-

Oh… So that's how the Fallen Angels knew.

Ddraig was wanting to facepalm so hard at that revelation and at his own stupidity.

Of course! Fallen Angels could go about in the crowds or fly in the open and still remain hidden to the human eye and they could have seen me with the Gear out! Ddraig was just to busy being proud of me in my accomplishment in finding a freakin' _cheat sheet_ for nonstop power!

He just goes with sighing.

He's sure I can protect myself. He's seen me do it before.

What? You didn't think beings like Strays that are passing by would not notice the power increase?

Ddraig can only suppress so much! He's inside a scaly and mechanical gauntlet for crying out loud!

The reason I evolved past Twice Critical was for two reasons: One, my power surpassed than the Twice Critical can give. Two, our friendship, or dare I say, brotherhood we built with each other. Ddraig knew that the Gear he resides wouldn't just evolve from my power alone, so the only explanation was my will and determination, but I told Ddraig that it was also our friendship and that shocked the dragon to his very core.

It couldn't have been that.

Could it?

I personally think that was the main reason.

And in the meantime Ddraig was thinking, I woke up once more from my suspension, already an hour before midnight after he and I finished increasing my power, then I begin to Boost more again to create extra strain before heading out to do my usual routine, which I so enjoyed and got the added bonus of being able to get stronger. My secret of the Sacred Gear is compromised already, why stop now? During the time of my rooftop traveling, I have been wondering in why humans are so belittled yet Devils and Fallen Angels or other species try to recruit them? Why do gods not show much acknowledgement to the humans that believe in them and have been granting them extra power? So far, the Angels are with the humans.

Dragons, on the other hand… It's a complete mystery to me. I began to think that maybe, just maybe, dragons are not living selfishly. Maybe they're living away from others for other reasons. Ddraig told me the big dragons like the Kings, Emperors which he is and I would have squealed in how awesome he was if I wasn't mute, then he continued in telling me about the Dragon God, and the Big Red One.

…. Okay, I apologize for the messed up pun in the end. I should not joke about that.

But seriously, dragons were said to be able to match or surpass those who are gods and such in stories and that they were immensely wise.

So why are there so few dragons only able to match that or have that much wisdom?

But I digress, I'll just think about that later and enjoy the here and now while I can. My gut says the calmness won't last long and that it won't return for a while when things do get serious, so I do plan to enjoy it while it lasts.

My eyes widened at sensing something behind me and looks back. I see Shirone, in a white kimono that hugged her toned and highly developed body thanks to Kuroka's training and in her Neko appearance, catching up to me soon enough to join me in my session. I always enjoyed it when her and Kuroka joined me in my freerunning sessions, it was fun. I smile and Shirone smiles back, albeit with a side of apologetic on her end. "I'm sorry about that, Ryu. I had contracts to do and I didn't want Rias to start using bold approaches to get you in her Peera- Gasp!" Shirone gawked at seeing my gauntlet, which is reasonable, considering this is one of the most strongest weapons in the world.

Speaking of which, why is it Mid-Tier? Is it because no one found out it's potential or just because it doesn't give you the immediate power?

"Ryu, you shouldn't have that out! You do know what that is, right!?" I nod before stopping, making her stop as well before I raise up my left arm proudly for all those to see. "….!" **[You flatter me, partner.]** I could feel the smile underneath that gauntlet. People won't be able to hear him from this high on the building we're on, so that's good. I won't be considered crazy.

My worries completely contradicted what I just doing, huh? I'll just go with a facepalm and move on. In the meantime, Shirone jumped back in shock of the voice, though she quickly adjusts and just smiles and shakes her head at my antics. "….." I explain to her the situation, causing Shirone to gasp again, "So the Fallen Angels are most likely here for you." She crosses her arms under her chest before continuing, "All because you didn't hide the Boosted Gear." I shrug, not my fault I can't deactivate it without having to reset my power and I can't hide it either, it's too big! What am I supposed to do, wrap it in cloth and just carry it around, thinking people won't notice? No!

* * *

_**Vatican Church…**_

"Achoo!" A blue haired with a strand of green hair exorcist sneezes and rubs her nose while the female exorcist next to her, whom had caramel blonde hair in twin tails, looked at her in worry. "Are you okay?" The blue haired one nods, "I just feel like my style of carrying my weapon was questioned and insulted." The blond hair female just gawks at her in confusion.

* * *

_**Back with the Ryu and Shirone**_

I feel like that statement is going to bite me back in the rear. I shudder before looking at her and offer her to keep our session since it was training for me. "Okay." Shirone gives me that heartwarming smile before we continue to travel from rooftop to rooftop. Hmm… I think this is a good time to ask about Kuroka… "…."

Shirone looks crestfallen, but I need to know, I really do. This may sound selfish to say that even though I'm glad of Shirone being here, I simply feel like I'm still missing half of me. "I don't know. We made a break for it to go back to you and that ended in catastrophe… We ended up getting separated. One managed to get me. I'm sure the other was killed by Kuroka or she escaped altogether. I just wish there was a way to use their dumb Peerage Laws against them... Maybe we could have avoided this situation…"

And that struck me like that time I got hit by the truck a little after unlocking my power, then crashed into a supermarket, destroying their cabbage section… The manager was not happy as he cried out for his cabbages as if they were his children. I paid for them in the end, even though it wasn't my fault.

Maybe I could do something about it… "…." Shirone thought about the question before shaking her head. "No. There's no law for that since forceful removal of the Evil Piece or Pieces results in death. Why?" I wave off the question, reassuring her I was just curious. In reality, I was now thinking in ways to use this to advantage. But how to prevent death is the question. I will think of this in another time. "So… You're with a Fallen Angel now…?" I look back to see Shirone and reaffirm that this could all be a trap and if I refused, their next idea would have been sneak attacks including the fact that I do not know how powerful they are. Shirone glared at me, not really _at_ me, it was to the situation I was pushed on. She was glaring at the fact I was now a target. "I'll help you."

* * *

_**A few hours later...**_

It was pretty dark. Past nighttime. Way past it. But here Shirone was, giving me tips on combat while we were in the middle of the forested part of a park. She was going to teach me how to fight until Ddraig intervened and told her about how I got to Rank 2 through my method and fought some Strays here and there. Some weak, some challenging. I definitely got my life and death situations though.

The expression was priceless. So, here she was, about to spar with. I have to say, Rook powers plus Senjutsu equals devastation. Dang.

She was even worth two Rook Pieces.

That is one mighty castle for something so small.

Big things in small packages though, right?

"Alright, so stay on that end and I'll go to the opposite end." I stand where she pointed. "Good. Ready?" I nod. Fighting someone I trusted? Even for a spar, I'm not really up for it.

Too bad for me, I don't get to make the calls, Laws of Murphy does.

And it declared I get punched in the gut.

Too bad I like to go my way. I lean far back to the point my knees are bending a complete 90 degrees and successfully makes her pass by me. I take advantage of this and grab her by her foot, proceeding to launch her to the ground, cracking the very earth with a hint of crater. I'm not going to expect for me to win this. She has Senjutsu, Two Rook Pieces, and a Neko Youkai. The last part is mentioned because cats do have natural and enhanced reflexes with senses to boot. And she was near Rank 3 before the incident. This, will be my test. This will take me every amount of my wits to match her. I launch a fist enhanced with magic to her and impact her stomach, she flinched. Good, then that means I still have a chance in terms of strength. I know I shouldn't push my luck and I decide to jump away. Good thing too, she kicked the space I just was. She charged at me with swift speed, so I jump to a branch, controlling my weight as to not make it break instantly but I do make it loose and starts falling, she hits the ground I once was.

Wait.

What?

She punched the ground but no indentation appeared. The force was there, obviously, her arm is tensed up.

Is she transferring her Senjutsu to make sure the area is not damaged? I think of this as I come down and deliver an overhead kick which she dodged by backing away before it can be launched. I predicted that and countered with using the kick's momentum to launch me in the air just a bit further and forward, now bringing down an downward punch. She, of course, blocked it. Though her cat ears picked up on creaking right after the punch and instinctively looked up to see that same branch I loosened. I grinned and spun to the right while in mid air, using that momentum, I kicked her with another magic energy enhanced in the stomach again. That is pretty neat honestly. So that means she could be using all her Senjutsu to avoid area damage. So she's relying on her Rook powers

To people, that might be insulting, to me though, I am grateful. I don't need to be defeated instantly. I don't know the abilities of Senjutsu and I don't want to be the guinea pig of it. She rushes back to me, now launching a flurry of punches that I do my best to avoid by just tilting myself left, right, or back, redirecting her fists while countering myself by releasing harmful pulses of my own energy and backing up while doing so. Soon enough, the _same_ branch falls where she it standing, acting on natural reflex, she looks up and breaks it, giving me enough time to punch her with both fists enhanced with energy and making that energy explode, causing more damage. In the stomach. Again. Now she's gasping for breath. I feel accomplished in this. Without the use of my Boosted Gear or _those_ weapons. Still feeling bad though.

"Hah… Hah… Hah… Phew…" Shirone stands, a little wobbly while doing so. She smiles still. "Nice use of your opponent's strengths and turning them to weaknesses. That was an excellent form of fighting that you used too. I didn't know you could manipulate your own magic energy like that." I smile sheepishly while the glow in the back of my left hand appears, **[As he is human, he doesn't have that feeling of weakness when using too much magic energy unlike those who are from the supernatural as he was not born with it. That means he can still keep going without any change or danger even if he is depleted om his reserves so he can freely practice with it.] **"Wow, that's neat! No wonder you know how to use your energy if you practice it with no worries!" **[He still has backlashes of messing around with his magic.] **I frown at him for that and he just laughs at the times I screwed up and blew myself up a few times along the way. Smiling, Shirone runs up to me and hugs me. With a tender smile, I hug her back with equal happiness. "Well, I should get going. Glad to see you've been doing well and I wish you luck with that Fallen Angel." Shirone pecks my cheek and waves before speeding off. Gets over my shock of what transpired before smiling again. I am really glad to see her doing well. I decide to head back to my home also.

During the time of my way to my home, I frown. I realized that there are many who are stronger than me. Stronger than Shirone. Stronger than Kuroka.

I have to get stronger.

I _need_ to get stronger.

And then I'll prove to everyone humans are not weak. That they can protect those that are precious, defeat those who mean harm and corrupt. That they can also fight back when threatened.

I promise I'll get stronger and I will make my parents proud.

* * *

**Ending: Rolling Star by Yui**

**(Yume ni made mita you na sekai de arasoi no naku heiwa ni kurashitai) **Camera shows the streets and buildings of Kuoh City that had fast moving shadows of bestial and demonic looking creatures. Suddenly, a human shaped shadow carrying what seemed to be two swords, lunging at the other shadows and the camera panned to show it was actually Ryu jumping up high in the air and then slashed the screen with his swords.

**(****Mou gaman bakka shiterannai yo ****iitai koto wa iwanakucha****) **The screen split into three from the slashes and now shows Ryu jumping across rooftops with Asia on his back and Kuroka and Shirone following behind him, all of them smiling in joy.

**(****Kaerimichi yuugure no basutei ****ochikonda senaka ni Bye Bye Bye!**) The scenery switches to show Rias and Sona playing a game of chess against each other in the ORC Clubroom and their Peerages doing other miscellaneous things or watching their Kings play.

**(****Kimi no Fighting Pose misenai Oh! ****Oh!****)** The scene swapped again to show Ryu standing in the middle of the streets at nighttime, now in his serious personality. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he leapt towards the screen and punches it. This caused it to shatter to small shards of glass.

**(****Yume ni made mita you na sekai wa ****arasoi mo naku heiwa na nichi jyou!****) **Now it demonstrates Ryu blocking a punch from Dohnaseek and counters with a punch of his own to the face, knocking him away. Next, he ducks to avoid a kick from behind by Kalawarner and counters with an uppercut that sent her flying. Lastly, he launches a beam of bronze colored energy at Mittlet that destroyed the incoming light spears in the process.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa hibi to rabu te ****tama ni kuyandari shiteru) **Swiftly turning around, Ryu charges towards Raynare, his gauntlet at the ready and jumps in the air to reach her with an open hand and she responds to throwing a light spear at him.

**(Sonna ROLLING DAYS!) **The entire screen went white right after.

**(Short Instrumental) **_A short series of flashbacks of all the times he fought against his foes that included Stray Devils, Freed, and the Fallen Angels play in his mind._

**(****Kitto uso nante sou kimi wo motanai no) **Ryu falls to the floor, the bangs of his hair covers his eyes, and blood littered his torn up clothes and body.

**(All my loving… ****Sou janakya yatterannai!) **Two hands are offered in front of him and looks up to see Rias, Kiba, Akeno, and Asia and the hands belonging to Kuroka and Shirone.

**(Yume ni made mita you na Sweet Love ****koibitotachi wa kakurega wo sagasu no) **Ryu gladly took the assistance and stood back up on his feet.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa aenai hi ga****tsuzukinagara mo shinjiteru no Lonely days****) **Slowly raising his hand up, Ryu summons his Boosted Gear once more. The gem shines brightly and gives the white background made by the shining moon a more vibrant and beautiful color.

**(Tsumazuitatte Way to go! ****Yeah! Yeah!) **The group behind Ryu smiles at seeing him stand up and as he raised his armored hand up in the air.

**(Dorodarake ROLLING STAR!) **The screen soon becomes engulfed in a sea of green light by the gauntlet.

**End ending song**

* * *

**Welp, that's chapter three technically. The previous chapter is two in one. But I like to think that this is the first **_**real**_** chapter. It was to explain how Ryu will be growing in power and he'll be developing more and more ways to grow that also speed up the process as the series continues. The first two were previews in my opinion. I hope the spar was entertaining. If it was too short for you, I apologize. The original purpose of the spar was for Ryu to show Shirone that he **_**can**_** fight and he did it with both brains and brawn. I believe I'm done making rapid updates to the story. Even if I know what I'm doing and what I'm typing even before actually doing it, I still need to think things slowly and not rashly. I'd say once per week. Once per two weeks maybe is when I'll update. Also, two things to clear up: Ryu will stay human, no matter what. This tale is to show the power of humanity. Second, the reason Shirone does not have her "Loli" figure is because she grew up with Kuroka teaching her the arts of Senjutsu a little bit and accepting her Youkai self instead of suppressing it, so Shirone's body is no longer "restricted" in a way and that allowed her body to properly grow. It also eliminated her stoic expression. She's still stoic, but only to those who are not Kuroka or Ryu.**


	3. Deadly Serious Times and Happy Fun Times

**Yo! Ryu here! I'd also like to say that if you are ever confused on what's going on in this story, you can always private message me or state your confusion in the reviews. It's perfectly normal to get confused with my story since I am changing a lot of things story wise and abilities/powers too. Like the Thirteen Longinus being so powerful as they are in the original story, which I will change and regulate along with characters' powers, and it will most likely throw people off due to things being so different than what they're used to. Anyways, I don't own Highschool DxD.**

"I refuse to give up!" – Speech  
_"I can't keep up…" – Thoughts/Flashbacks speech  
_**[Hang in there!]/[Boost!] – Ddraig speech  
**_**[Through the thick and thin, partner!] – Ddraig thoughts/Flashback speech**_

* * *

**Opening: Sympathy by Larval Stage Planning**

**(Tomo ni mou ichido tachiagare ****mamore hitotsu no inochi…) **The camera shows Ryu landing on the ground and narrowing his eyes at the Peerage of Riser as they prepare themselves for combat. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he charges at them and the green gem begins to glow.

**(****Tayasanu yo niiii!) **The glow stopped and the upcoming clash is replaced with the picture of the Boosted Gear itself across the screen horizontally and the title appears in the middle.

**_"古伝の竜守る Vol 0: 不羈 (Legend of the Dragon Protector, Vol 0: Freedom)"_**

Then the gauntlet and title turn to shiny green particles.

**(****Futatabi otozureta yoake ni me ga samete kimi wo omoi dasu yume no tochuu) **The particles vanished to show the ORC Club and scrolls from left to right to show Rias to Kiba, Akeno, Asia, and finally to Shirone and Kuroka. All of them smiling towards the camera.

**(Me no mae no zanzo susumanai ashidori ****toozakatte yuku hiriki na boku) **Once more, the scenery switched to the Student Council Room and scrolled from right to left this time to show Sona, Tsubaki, Saji, Momo, Reya, Tsubasa, Rukuro, and Tomoe, all smiling at the camera as well.

**(Taisetsu na mono wa doko ni aru? ****Ashita wo shinjiru nara wasurenaide!) **The screen returned back to Ryu charging towards Riser's Peerage and the camera panned to the females and zooms past them and closes in on Riser's smirking face.

**(Ima koso saa inochi wo kakete susumi dasu toki****omoi ga tsuyoi hodo tsuyokunaru!)** Ryu dodges, parries, and counters the attacks of the servants in the Phenex's Peerage and heads straight for Riser after dealing with the females.

**(Hengen suru tsugihagi darake no risou dewa****sugu ni kiete shimau kara!) **Riser flies up in the air with his fire wings and Ryu follows suit with his energy being released through the sole of his feet and shoes and clash high in the sky with fist against fist, kicks against kick, and yellowish colored fires against copper colored lasers.

**(Towa e tsuzuku kawasu chikai****furue dashita karada no soko kara!) **Ryu slowly held up his Sacred Gear and the jewel shines once more with a light so intense that made Riser cover his eyes from its intensity. Red flames spread around Ryu's entire body and an armored silhouette slowly makes it appearance within the flames with emerald green eyes piercing through the red fire.

**End opening song**

* * *

_**Early Morning, Inside an Abandoned Church: "Yuuma"**_

Please tell what Yuuma heard wasn't true. The kid she was told to kill because of his potential danger, ended up being the current Sekiryutei (Red Dragon Emperor)!?

She would usually shrug off the worry about someone's Sacred Gear but that gauntlet itself sends shivers down her spine.

Not the good type too. It's one of the Thirteen Longinus after all!

But then again, he might not be able to wield it correctly… Yuuma begins to ponder about it and the more she thinks about it, the more she relaxes. "Oi." Yuuma turns around to see a man wearing a gray trench coat, navy blue dress pants, and dancing shoes. If one looked close enough, his facial structure already showed he was a man in his 40's with gray hair and even gray eyes.

Oh, he has a fedora too. Also gray.

Never ignore the fedoras. You can never go wrong with them.

"Are you seriously worrying over the kid? Relax, he's just a human. It's not like he can use it to its full power."

Are you so sure you'd bet on the very thing you fell from Heaven for, fedora man?

"Yeah, you're right. Anyways, info on the other one?" Instead of worrying about the Longinus Wielder, she moves on to another subject. "She'll be here soon enough. A week or two." Yuuma nods at that. It would be like killing two Devils with one spear. Her musings were cut short when she felt her phone vibrate and took it out from her skirt's pocket. She grinned at seeing it was Ryu dearest. The following read: "Hey! I was wondering if we could start dating today and maybe go around town after school. See what store you'd like to go. Is that fine with you?" The man glances at the phone and nods in approval before speaking, "Nice job. Just yesterday you asked him out and he's already wanting to go on a date. I see why you decided to stay in your high school appearance." Yuuma smirks. "It's pretty natural for boys to do that. It still sucks that he can't speak." The man raises an eyebrow that is hidden by his fedora. "Mute? That's interesting. Aside from that, you better get ready for that 'date' even if it is hours away." Yuuma just nods in agreement.

* * *

_**Meanwhile, Mamoru Residence: Ryu**_

I sent the text message once I woke up, wearing my usual sleepwear of a gray shirt and blue shorts. I'm still nervous because if I don't entertain her enough, she'll act sooner and I need time to prepare as Ddraig adviced. For now, I'll stick in getting ready for school.

10 minutes later, I'm here, in my living room, staring at Shirone questioningly as we eat breakfast that is comprised of eggs, pork links, and hash browns who showed up in my living room. Naturally, she picks up on my longing gaze and smiles, "I'm here because I wanted to see you." Aw, that's really considerate of her~ "But I wanted to also ask about the incident 2 years ago."

Cue mental and nonexistent sound of glass breaking.

Ooohh… I know what she's talking about…

"Every supernatural person in the city probably felt it too. Holy and demonic energy was in turmoil then. It was at the abandoned house too, so I was wondering if you know anything about it."

…

Ahhhh...

Fudge.

Shirone can see the dismay in my expression and eyes and smiles again, "I won't say anything. Not unless you want me to." That's not what I'm worried about here.

Well, actually, I'm worried about that too.

I simply sigh and prepare to tell her. While I do that, I'll let the Flashback play out to show what happened.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

_A year after the discovery of my power, now 16, and now in an orphanage after Kuroka and Shirone fixed my 'invisible to people' problem. I decided go to the abandoned house during a stroll, that I had to sneak out to do so, to reminiscent old memories. That was when I felt a massive influx of power inside of the house, so I rush inside and see two long swords on the counter, one glowing white, one glowing black. The one glowing white had a cylindrical and gold grip with a small white orb on the pommel in the size of an eye, the guard being just the usual straight bar. The blade was gleaming and clear too._

_It's counterpart, though, had a rectangular and red grip, the orb black instead of white on the pommel, and unlike the other sword, it had no guard to begin with. Instead, it had three claws on each of the blunt side of the blade that were a fifth length of the blade had and it began from the edge grip up. And the blade was dark, dark grey. So dull of gleam, almost like it doesn't even let light reflect upon it. _**_[Partner! Leave the area! At the rate the swords are fighting, a large chunk of the city will go down from the two energies clashing!] _**_I could do__ the smart thing like that. I didn't want this house to go down or the people to die though. So I did the most intelligent thing that was in the book of stupidity:_

_I rushed in grabbed the swords._

_The most common thing to happen would have been me eviscerated from the energy at being in the proximity of the swords or blown to nothingness upon the touch of not one, but of the two blades._

_That was the most expected thing to happen._

_But it never happened._

_The blades actually stopped fighting. They calmed down and I sighed in great relief for that. After a while, I was wondering where I would be able to put this away and that's when they vanished into white and black particles._

_**Flashback End**_

* * *

Later after that incident and Ddraig getting over his shock, he told me those were the legendary Holy/Demonic Dragon Slaying Swords.

Ascalon and Gram.

You might be thinking in how I'm now so powerful and now I can decimate so many enemies now, right?

Wrong.

The swords are powerful, yes. But there is one reason why I can't use them to their full extent:

Ddraig told me that these blades, while both did choose me, both didn't want me to choose both of the swords or the other one over the other and now they're playing stubborn by not using their full power or granting me whatever abilities they can grant.

All because I didn't choose just one and the fact that they don't seem like they tolerate each other.

At least they can still give Angels, Fallen Angels, Devils, and Dragons extra ouchies when the swords wound them.

Meanwhile, Shirone gets out of her stupor and shock. "Whoa… Both swords!? You must be really special, Ryu!"

That got me thinking.

With my deduction skills and history on mythology and some knowledge on the supernatural, I can say I'm probably playing some part in something that's going to happen.

Being the one to have the Boosted Gear.

Being the first human with no special lineage or involvement to the supernatural to achieve power and it was through some type loop in the Boosted Gear instead.

Both Ascalon and Gram choosing me.

It's just for _what _I'm being a part of and my role in the part is the question.

Or when will the events take place for that matter.

Forcing myself from my thoughts, I nod at Shirone's statement. I take the dishes to the sink and sling my bag over my shoulder, now ready for school, same for Shirone. "…." I told her we should start hanging out again. "What? But-" "…." To counter what she told me, I told her to let just whatever was going to happen, happen and that Rias and Sona would approach me soon enough either way. Shirone looks sad and disappointed in herself. "You're right. I shouldn't push you away… I'm sorry…" I pet her head, shocking her and also giving her waves of pleasure from the sign of affection. Afterwards, we head out.

* * *

_**ORC Building: Rias, Akeno, Sona, and Tsubaki**_

Rias watched from the window as Ryu and Shirone walk past the gates and in the courtyard. Akeno saw this too and smiles, "Ara~ Shirone and Ryu walked together to school. Do you think they're lovers? Fufufu."

Rias and Sona, surprisingly, were actually thinking about something related to that statement and question.

Sona decided to speak up on to actually follow up what Akeno said, "Actually, Akeno, you may be correct on that." Akeno was surprised by that before the shock turned into understanding. She knew how she could be right or at least close. Shirone, the stoic and emotionless member of the ORC and Rias' only Rook, looked like she was having fun for the first time _ever_. Their train of thought were interrupted when Rias spoke up, "While there is no evidence, do any of you believe he could have been with Shirone and Kuroka during the time they were in hiding?" Tsubaki decided to speak up in response to the query, "I believe that may be what occurred. The documentation clearly said he didn't enter an orphanage until the age of 15, a few weeks before his 16th birthday. A few days before that, it was reported that Kuroka Toujou and Shirone Toujou were caught." Sona nodded at the coincidence. Akeno decided to speak up again, "Fufufu, at least our little kitten has finally found someone she can be open with."

Sona Sitri, heiress to the Sitri Clan who are known for their water and ice affinity. She has black hair that is neck-length in the haircut form of a bobcut and purple eyes that are behind her also purple framed and oval shaped glasses. While her body was not as developed as the others, she reigned supreme in intelligence and wits. Her Queen, Tsubaki Shinra, is a woman with black hair as well though hers reached down to the back of her knees, caramel brown colored eyes that were also behind a pair of glasses she always wears which the frame shared the same color as her eyes as well, but were square shaped instead of oval. Her figure was similar to Rias and Akeno's; well-developed and buxom.

Rias, on the other hand, was thinking deeply after the coincidence was mentioned. Then, she she said the one thing that could push their suspicions closer to the conclusion, "The incident 2 years ago." Everyone turned to her, giving quizzical looks at her. She continued, "When I first mentioned the location of the two opposite energies, Shirone became tense. Her eyes were filled with genuine worry. When we arrived there with your Peerage, Sona, she actually had a faint smile on her face." Their expressions turned to slack-jawed at realizing where she was getting at. Rias didn't stop there, "When we were investigating the anomaly, she was constantly checking miscellaneous objects, holding them, looking at them closely. Her expressions varied from happiness, sadness, and worry." That was when she became silent once more, having said enough while the others contemplated on this important piece of information.

Could Ryu have supported two dangerous and wanted criminals or has he been oblivious to what he did?

* * *

_**Kouh Academy Courtyard: Ryu and Shirone**_

This is the part where I hear the defeated voices of the females…

"Wait, is that Shirone with him!?"

"Noooo! They're going out already!"

"I wanted to be the one to date him!"

"Sniff… My dream to marry him… Gone… Uwaaaahhh!"

Wait, what? Marry me? But you just met me yesterday! I can hear Ddraig laughing in my head too! What is he laughing about!? And why is Shirone glaring at them?

And then the painful insults from the males…

"Damn! He got the 'School Mascot'!"

"Die, Bishounen!"

"Why do you get the popularity and not us!?"

"Stupid Bishounen and their stupid looks…"

If I could give you the popularity, I would… I just want the insults to stop… And what do they mean by 'Bishounen'!? I voice this question to Ddraig, _"…..!?"_ _**[-AHAHAHA! Heheheh… Relax, partner… Oohhh… Hahah… If I had a stomach, it would be in pain by now… Do you really not know of what that is?] **_I mentally shook my head. _**[It's those people that are considered to be the closest to perfection by women and Bishoujous are the female counterpart that are also said to be closest to perfection by males. You've seen them in some of your books, remember?]**_

Oh.

Wait, I'm not that!

"…_.!"_ _**[Like it or not, you**_** are_ and also_**_** have the powers of a Bishounen. Let me prove it to you. Imagine yourself to be filled with sparkles.] **_

Why sparkles? What does that have to do with anything?

Sigh... Why do I even bother?

Mentally shaking my head, I close my eyes and decided to do follow what he said.

... Why am I hearing that special sound used for sparkling effects?

So I decided to open my eyes.

"...!?"

Holy shishkabobs! I'm seeing _actual_ glitter and sparkles around me! And why are roses around me that appeared out of nowhere!? _**[Turn it off before you cause brain damage! Hahahah!] **_I shut it off and the glitter slash sparkles and flowers vanish. _**[Look around you and see the results.] **_I looked around as instructed.

Oh my God…

There are some females in the courtyard, on the ground, and having a large quantity of blood around them that leaked from their noses. Other females are profusely losing blood through their noses and most of the males are glaring at me with red eyes.

…. wait... People on the ground with a pool of their own blood...

DID I JUST KILL INNOCENT PEOPLE!?

"…_.!?" __**[No, you didn't kill them! They're just unconscious and the other females who are left standing and bleeding from their noses is caused from embarrassment! When someone's embarrassed, their blood naturally rushes to their faces which shows a pinkish or red color known as 'blushing' and if there is too much blood in the head, it will begin to cause a leakage through the nose to get rid of the pressure.] **_That answers that. What about the males with the red eyes? I ask him exactly that, _"…?" __**[That's them just focusing so much anger through their eyes.] **_Oh… I turn to look at Shirone and sees her pocketing what seemed to be… A handkerchief? It seemed to have small spots blood on it too. She was red around the cheeks too.

…. Eh, probably nothing serious, I hope.

"Shirone!" I heard someone call my friend. I turned to face the proclaimed 'Prince of Kouh' by the females. Kiba Yuuto, second year. A male of blonde hair with grayish blue eyes that had kindness and compassion with a hidden edge like it was a sheathed sword. He even had a small mole under the left eye.

And a Devil.

Shirone turns to him and she puts up this stoic expression. "Good morning, Kiba-senpai." Kiba's smile falters a bit at the emotion, or for a better term, lack of it. "Mah mah (Now now) Shirone, it's not fair that I see you smiling at Ryu-senpai and be emotionless to your fellow club mates! You're still emotionless even to Buchou and Akeno." You can't exactly blame her. She has bad memories of your King's race. Speaking of Shirone, she still has that stoic expression and just like what her chess piece represents, she does not budge at the comment. I almost want to laugh or chuckle at that.

Oh wait, I can't… Aww... Fudge nuggets…

Nonetheless, I hold my hand out for a handshake to Kiba with a genuine smile. His smile returns back to its former glory and gladly shakes my hand. "My name is Kiba Yuuto and I'm a second year. I guess that means you're my senpai." He chuckles at that last part once we lower our hands. "I'm aware of who you are and your condition, so you don't need to waste the paper." Aw, that is being really considerate. I already feel like our friendship will be strong.

His gaze shifts back to Shirone, "Remember that there is a club meeting today like the usual. Okay?" Shirone just nods and Kiba bows lightly towards us before leaving. Wait. He stops and looks back at me. "If you ever have the time, think about joining us, the Occult Research Club. Personally, I would like for you to join. It's nice to see Shirone have a smile on her face. Our president and vice president didn't tell me to extend the invitation to you, by the way, this out of my own volition and I will personally vouch for you should you decide to join."

As he walks towards the school, I'm standing here, shocked.

The temptation… It's too much… More time with Shirone…

Resist… Resist…! You have a Fallen Angel to watch out for…!

I inhale and exhale deeply a few times.

Okay, I'm good. Shirone and I begin walking to the actual school building.

* * *

_**After School**_

Another day and I can tell a lot has transpired for just the second day I've been here. Nervous or firm glances were given to me by either Rias, Sona, Tsubaki, and Akeno. Well… Akeno's gazes were more of curiosity. And a hint of… Gratitude? There was a bit of the two from Rias also while Sona and Tsubaki were mixed with just curiosity. The curiosity, nervousness, and firmness, I can understand since Ddraig explained it to me why. To him, it was easy to figure out what they knew about me. Through putting together the unquestionable possibility that they have gone in-depth inside the contents of my files, put together the pieces of the events of my life and the Toujou Sister's, and possible emotions Shirone might have revealed during the definite probability of an investigation the two Peerages made where the two swords clashed, which was at the house the three of us lived.

He's lived through thousands of years, both outside and inside the Sacred Gear. It is obvious that his intelligence is absolute and that's why he's been there for me. My combat partner and my second conscious.

And for those wondering, yes. I am a fan of him. Call me a Ddraig Fanboy if you so wish it and I would gladly accept it.

Back on topic. The hints of gratitude were still a mystery to me. Sigh… Not my concern. Yet. I have another problem to worry about.

And I was standing in front of that very problem. The problem and I were at the school gates of Kouh Academy, gazing at each other. Yuuma Amano. In her school uniform since we are just planning to simply take a walk and see what store she wants to go along the way.

She asked me, "Ready?" I nod and we begin to walk.

* * *

_**Kuoh City Streets: Ryu and Yuuma**_

You know, even though this relationship could be fake and the fact I have _very_ little knowledge in dating or relationships in that matter, so Ddraig has been helping me this entire time with advice.

It's going was great. I'm enjoying it. The most rewarding thing for me was the smile, although it could have been fake too, that she constantly gave me. I felt like I was doing great and not horrible job. We went to a clothing store, a jewelry shop, a diner, and even an arcade.

I naturally pay every single purchase she wanted to make and jewelry or clothing she kept having an eye for.

Local Japanese parkour competitions reward winners quite a bit and I won many of them so the money stacked up.

Along with the ability to duplicate that money.

Magic is awesome.

Aside from that, we decided to sit on a bench in a park when the stars decided to appear and gaze at them. Yuuma decided it was a good time to speak her heart out, "I always enjoyed being who I wanted to be with without any worries, like my role models. They are always so calm, nonchalant, and open minded yet kind and take leadership. They were loved among many and followed whatever they did without question. Including myself." They sound like awesome role models to me. "What about you?" Yuuma looks at me with an expectant expression. This is where I take out my notepad and began scribbling the longest I think I've ever written. I then hand it to her for her to read and does so out loud.

"I look up to those that never give up and keep fighting to protect those who cannot defend themselves. Those who better themselves through means of hard work or using the talents they have to their advantage. Those who protect those who they consider precious. Defeat the ones that corrupt and harm the innocent. Even if the shadows of hatred and conflict will always exist, they need the light of courage and true justice to be able to live. This is why the "good" wins over the "bad." I intend to prove people this through my actions like others have in history and make my parents proud." Yuuma looks deep in thought at this. She mentally shakes herself off from her thoughts and smiles at this as she hands me the notepad back. "That is a meaningful way to look at life." I just smile sheepishly whilst rubbing the back of my head in embarrassment.

Yup. This date was a success.

* * *

_**Koden No Ryu Mamoru (Legend of the Dragon Protector): Omake I - Dragon vs. Prince.**_

"Ryu-senpai is better!"

"No! Kiba-kun is better than Ryu-senpai!"

Currently in Kouh Academy, there are two groups of females that are fighting. One side has females holding signs that say "Ryu-senpai" or  
Ryu-kun" while the other side have "Kiba-senpai" or "Kiba-kun." The one's arguing that Ryu was better held keychains, dolls, figurines, and photos of that very same Ryu. The other team that argued that Kiba was the superior of the two, also had keychains, dolls, figurines, and even photos of him. The leaders of these two occult- I mean fan clubs, however...

The leader in the Ryu Mamoru Fan Club was wearing Ryu's very own jacket. The leader on Kiba Yuuto Fan Club was wearing Kiba's jacket as well. Then, one particular and bespectacled female who was feared by men for her... Unique measuring abilities, walked by these two and spoke as she did so, "Just have Ryu and Kiba be in a competition to see who's better."

The two fan clubs stops bickering and paused as if they were frozen in stone. Cue tumbleweed to pass by because of imaginary wind.

They soon burst in a frenzy of speed like a wild herd to where the two proclaimed 'Hottest Men in Kuoh' might be.

And so, here they are, out in the courtyard where Ryu, Kiba, and Shirone, with her ever-present emotionless facade, were hanging out under a tree.

"Um... Compete against each other?" Asked a confused Kiba. His almost immediate response from the leader of his fan club was, "We want you to compete to prove to us who is better: Ryu-senpai or you, Kiba-kun!" Ryu thought of this as a friendly competition and that it would be fun. But he just had _one_ question which he wrote down and showed it for them to read...

"Are those our spare jackets?"

... Cricket. Cricket. Fwoooohhh~...

This is where the awkward silence kicked in between the three friends and two fan clubs.

Shirone, on the other hand, walked up to the leader of Ryu's fan club, and snatched the jacket. Ryu smiles at the nice gesture of returning his jacket he thought Shirone was going to do.

Instead...

Shirone puts it on and stood next to the leader of his fan club then held a sign that said, "Go Ryu!" Still stoic through this entire time albeit with a pink tint in her cheeks.

Kiba and Ryu stared at each other. Then, both smile before shaking their hands. "May the best man win."

Choice of competition? Cooking.

"Okay! The objective of this competition is to not only bake the fastest, but also bake the better cake! No specifics on what type of cake are needed! However, the cake must be large enough to feed an entire group of people! Meaning the larger, the better!" Ruka Kusaka, Sona's Bishop and referee for the competition, exclaimed. "I never thought your Knight would be doing this, Rias," Sona stated as her Peerage comprised of more members which were Tomoe Meguri, a Knight, Tsubasa Yura, currently her only Rook, and Momo Hanakai, also a Bishop. Rias was also there in the cooking class room with Sona along with Akeno next to her and Shirone standing near the counter they'll be using to cook as she will be the taste tester. Rias just puts on a conflicted look while having her arms crossed, "Neither did I, Sona..." Her expression changed to cheerful after giving this competition some thought, "But maybe it'll be fun to watch." Sona gives a faint smile at her childhood friend's enthusiasm and just nods.

"Are both sides ready!?" Ruka sees both competitors nod. "In that case... Readyyy..!" Kiba and Ryu twitch their hands in preparation and both cast each other a quick, competitive look with a side of narrowed eyes. "GO!" As soon as the 'Go' was yelled, both begin preparing their separate cakes at a rapid pace, hand movement a blur to even the other Devils which shocked them.

Kiba, was mixing the batter at rapid pace. Meanwhile, Ryu was molding and crafting chocolate at an equal rapid pace. Shortly after, Kiba sticks the batter in the oven after finishing mixing it. Ryu, however, put some homemade ice cream, that's currently just custard, and stuck in the freezer in order to actually become 'ice' cream, gaining confused looks from everyone. Even Shirone.

45 minutes later...

Kiba and Ryu take out their creations from their respective freezer and oven before finally putting the final touches.

5 minutes later...

Kiba and Ryu finished their cakes. Kiba made a three stack chocolate wedding cake with chocolate pudding filling inside and chocolate icing on the outside, which got the girls squealing at how he made a _wedding _cake. Ryu, though, made an Oreo cake albeit twice as large as the usual size.

"Alright! I can safely say that both competitors finished at the same time! Now for the taste testing!"

Shirone, with much enthusiasm on the inside, decided to eat Kiba's first. Eyes widened at the beautiful and amazing explosion of chocolate goodness that went on in her taste buds. "It's amazing." The crowd gasps in shock that Kiba's cake took the 'School Mascot' out of her neutral mask, even if for an instant. Kiba smiled in his accomplishment.

Although, he knew on the inside that victory was not his yet...

He knew Ryu Mamoru was not to be underestimated.

He had some trick up his sleeve.

During his musings, Shirone already moved on to Ryu's cake and tested it. A drip of saliva fell from her lips once it entered her mouth. She began to even tremble from keeping herself from eating it all. The moisture and texture of the chocolate in the Oreo was amazing, not only that, but the ice cream was exactly like the filling in an Oreo cookie and that same addiction it brings! But in ice cream form which was even better than the normal filling! People obviously saw that one lone trail of drool and thought how it could be incredibly delicious. Shirone wiped it off and nodded, "It has the same ecstasy when eating it like Kiba-senpai's cake." Ruka nodded at the gesture and statement. "Then I shall begin the points. Point for making the cake the fastest goes to... Both!" People were not surprised at that. They saw the two finish at the same time. "Point for the taste goes to... Both!" That once was a bit of a shock. While Kiba did knock her from her expressionless self, Ryu managed to not only Shirone want more of it through the sign of that trail of saliva, he also made her tremble from it's addiction. The expression on her face and shaking posture said itself that she wanted more of it.

They knew Kiba would win the last point though.

The one for the larger cake.

"Last point goes to-!" Ruka stops herself when Ryu held up a finger as if to say, "Hold on," through body language. Ruka obviously did so since she was curious why she was stopped. Ryu takes out a cooking lighter and holds it up high and far for those to see. He ignites the cooking tool and puts it right next to the ice cream part of his cake. People question why was Ryu doing thi-

Hold up. Are their eyes deceiving them?

No way.

That should not be possible!

The ice cream _isn't_ melting!

Even Rias, Sona, and their entire Peerage were shell-shocked!

How could they _not_ be!?

They didn't sense _any_ magic used!

Everyone who was a spectator huddled up, which even Rias and Sona and their Peerage joined in, began discussing about this.

Kiba shook his head while smiling. He called it. This man was something else entirely. Everyone dispersed and Ruka coughed, returning back to her referee self. "After coming to a consensus, we decided to give Ryu the extra point of convenience. No doubt in a party or celebration of any type, a cake like that would be amazing to have since it does not melt including if it was just for ice cream alone. So with that said... Kiba Yuuto and Ryu Mamoru tied!" Members of either fan clubs cheered for at least neither of the person they adore lost while others sulked because the other one couldn't win over the other. Kiba and Ryu though, were shaking their hands once more on the amazing competition each other put up. "Nice job, Ryu. I knew you were something else." Ryu nods in acknowledgement and also saying through body language that his rival in this competition also did an amazing job.

* * *

**Ending: Rolling Star by Yui**

**(Yume ni made mita you na sekai de arasoi no naku heiwa ni kurashitai) **Camera shows the streets and buildings of Kuoh City that had fast moving shadows of bestial and demonic looking creatures. Suddenly, a human shaped shadow carrying what seemed to be two swords, lunging at the other shadows and the camera panned to show it was actually Ryu jumping up high in the air and then slashed the screen with his swords.

**(****Mou gaman bakka shiterannai yo ****iitai koto wa iwanakucha****) **The screen split into three from the slashes and now shows Ryu jumping across rooftops with Asia on his back and Kuroka and Shirone following behind him, all of them smiling in joy.

**(****Kaerimichi yuugure no basutei ****ochikonda senaka ni Bye Bye Bye!**) The scenery switches to show Rias and Sona playing a game of chess against each other in the ORC Clubroom and their Peerages doing other miscellaneous things or watching their Kings play.

**(****Kimi no Fighting Pose misenakya Oh! ****Oh!****)** The scene swapped again to show Ryu standing in the middle of the streets at nighttime, now in his serious personality. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he leapt towards the screen and punches it. This caused it to shatter to small shards of glass.

**(****Yume ni made mita you na sekai wa****arasoi mo naku heiwa na nichijou!****) **Now it demonstrates Ryu blocking a punch from Dohnaseek and counters with a punch of his own to the face, knocking him away. Next, he ducks to avoid a kick from behind by Kalawarner and counters with an uppercut that sent her flying. Lastly, he launches a beam of bronze colored energy at Mittlet that destroyed the incoming light spears in the process.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa hibi to rabu te ****tama ni kuyandari shiteru) **Swiftly turning around, Ryu charges towards Raynare, his gauntlet at the ready and jumps in the air to reach her with an open hand and she responds to throwing a light spear at him.

**(Sonna ROLLING DAYS!) **The entire screen went white right after.

**(Short Instrumental) **_A short series of flashbacks of all the times he fought against his foes that included Stray Devils, Freed, and the Fallen Angels play in his mind._

**(****Kitto uso nante sou imi wo motanai no)**Ryu falls to the floor, the bangs of his hair covers his eyes, and blood littered his torn up clothes and body.

**(All my loving… ****Sou janakya yatterannai!) **Two hands are offered in front of him and looks up to see Rias, Kiba, Akeno, and Asia and the hands belonging to Kuroka and Shirone.

**(Yume ni made mita you na Sweet Love ****koibitotachi wa kakurega wo sagasu no)**Ryu gladly took the assistance and stood back up on his feet.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa aenai hi ga****tsuzukinagara mo shinjiteru no Lonely days****) **Slowly raising his hand up, Ryu summons his Boosted Gear once more. The gem shines brightly and gives the white background made by the shining moon a more vibrant and beautiful color.

**(Tsumazuitatte Way to go! ****Yeah! Yeah!) **The group behind Ryu smiles at seeing him stand up and as he raised his armored hand up in the air.

**(Dorodarake ROLLING STAR!) **The screen soon becomes engulfed in a sea of green light by the gauntlet.

**End ending song**

* * *

**I thought this was a nice and (hopefully) somewhat funny chapter to make that had a soft touch to it in the end before the omake started. Yes, I am a _huge _fan of Ddraig. Again as I said before, please private message me or give me a review about any questions you have involving the story in any way. Also, if there are ways you think I should improve on or to just say I'm doing good slash adequate job so far, please, do let me know. I welcome it. On a side note, I plan to have each chapter contain around 5k words. I think it's a fair amount.**


	4. Betrayal and Devilish Intentions

**... I couldn't help it. I know I should be updating only once per week or two it's just... I can't help it. I don goof'd, huh? ****I got something important to say before I go on to begin the story though: Thank you all so much. Thank you for leaving reviews, favoriting, following, or just stopping by to check it out! It really does help me since this is my first story and I was shaking from adrenaline and anticipation. Sincerely, thank you. Other than that, I just have to say that I will be finally moving to third person. Some of you may be wondering why, right? Well, I just wanted you all to get see Ryu's character and thoughts; Get to know his personality. If you didn't figure out what type of person he is from that, I'll go ahead and place what the things I was hoping for you to figure about him in the end of the chapter. One last thing: The reason I don't have Ryu say exactly what he says when he "speaks" is to make you readers figure out what he's saying and let your imaginations wander. I also will try not to reveal too much what his thoughts are from now on because that will just beat the purpose of him being mute. Now, to answer reviews for the first time!**

**Houki Minami: Thank you and stay golden yourself! From a reader's perspective, I understand that it may seem cliche at first, but as the story advances, more history will be revealed.**

**BAKAIZEN: I hope this story will continue to be interesting for you since I am trying to make this unique.**

**N7 Recruit: I apologize if this comes as a disappointment at the news that Ryu will _not_ be a Devil. This story is about showing the potential of humans and make the supernatural see that they are not to be trifled with.**

**Exis21: I'm glad I was able to answer your question and satiate your curiosity via PM.**

**(First) Guest: Thanks for that! Although like I said for N7 Recruit, Ryu will not be a Devil.**

**(Second) Guest: Thank you so much for your support also!**

**Also, check out my OST list in my profile that I've made out of other soundtracks! I didn't make them and they don't belong to me, I just thought of making them for the sake of some music in the background.**

**Other than that, I don't own Highschool DxD!**

"I refuse to give up!" – Speech  
_"I can't keep up…" – Thoughts/Flashbacks speech  
_**[Hang in there!]/[Boost!] – Ddraig speech  
**_**[Through the thick and thin, partner!] – Ddraig thoughts/Flashback speech**_

* * *

**Opening: Sympathy by Larval Stage Planning**

**(Tomo ni mou ichido tachiagare ****mamore hitotsu no inochi…) **The camera shows Ryu landing on the ground and narrowing his eyes at the Peerage of Riser as they prepare themselves for combat. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he charges at them and the green gem begins to glow.

**(****Tayasanu yo niiii!) **The glow stopped and the upcoming clash is replaced with the picture of the Boosted Gear itself across the screen horizontally and the title appears in the middle.

**_"古伝の竜守る Vol 0: 不羈 (Legend of the Dragon Protector, Vol 0: Freedom)"_**

Then the gauntlet and title turn to shiny green particles.

**(****Futatabi otozureta yoake ni me ga samete kimi wo omoi dasu yume no tochuu) **The particles vanished to show the ORC Club and scrolls from left to right to show Rias to Kiba, Akeno, Asia, and finally to Shirone and Kuroka. All of them smiling towards the camera.

**(Me no mae no zanzo susumanai ashidori ****toozakatte yuku hiriki na boku) **Once more, the scenery switched to the Student Council Room and scrolled from right to left this time to show Sona, Tsubaki, Saji, Momo, Reya, Tsubasa, Rukuro, and Tomoe, all smiling at the camera as well.

**(Taisetsu na mono wa doko ni aru? ****Ashita wo shinjiru nara wasurenaide!) **The screen returned back to Ryu charging towards Riser's Peerage and the camera panned to the females and zooms past them and closes in on Riser's smirking face.

**(Ima koso saa inochi wo kakete susumi dasu toki****omoi ga tsuyoi hodo tsuyokunaru!)** Ryu dodges, parries, and counters the attacks of the servants in the Phenex's Peerage and heads straight for Riser after dealing with the females.

**(Hengen suru tsugihagi darake no risou dewa****sugu ni kiete shimau kara!) **Riser flies up in the air with his fire wings and Ryu follows suit with his energy being released through the sole of his feet and shoes and clash high in the sky with fist against fist, kicks against kick, and yellowish colored fires against copper colored lasers.

**(Towa e tsuzuku kawasu chikai****furue dashita karada no soko kara!) **Ryu slowly held up his Sacred Gear and the jewel shines once more with a light so intense that made Riser cover his eyes from its intensity. Red flames spread around Ryu's entire body and an armored silhouette slowly makes it appearance within the flames with emerald green eyes piercing through the red fire.

**End opening song**

* * *

_**Morning, Mamoru Residence: Ryu and Shirone**_

Nearly a week has passed since Ryu began "dating" Yuuma and all of the dates were going fantastically well thanks to a certain Red Dragon Emperor. He was thinking quite a bit right now too as he sat on the table and ate his breakfast. It was already Sunday so no school. Shirone has finally been making up for lost time with him when there were no contracts or important notices in the club. She told him about how she was nearly executed until Rias saved her from that and how she has gotten powerful to official Rank 3 overall with her Senjutsu and Rook Piece. Ryu saw why she was stoic and at least tolerated the Peerage and a bit elated how she only shows expression to him or Kuroka only which really gave him light in his physically lonely lifestyle. He did have Ddraig, but he wanted to have Kuroka, Shirone, and Ddraig altogether. All of them were there in his life's hardships after all.

Shirone was thinking on the complex things that have happened during the week too. While she sat and ate with Ryu, she was thinking about how this all turned out. With Rias' natural curiosity and want in another Peerage member to combat a certain bird while Sona was setting her sights on someone else that had potential to be in her Peerage, so she told her to spy on Ryu with any means being the Nekoshou's choice in order to use whatever she finds as a plan to recruit him. Her first thought in this?

"_I get to hang out more with him, nya~!"_

The swords have still played stubborn. That has stayed the same at least. While on the subject of sentient weapons, Ddraig and the Boosted Gear, their connection has only deepened and the two have both been tinkering around with the Boosted Gear too. Speaking of the Boosted Gear, the Boosting strategy to increase his power has been getting incredulously harder. The reason why is because the more he increased the power, the harder he needs to train in order for his body and magic to get used to the increase in power and also to be able to handle the next session of absorbing the Boosts which he has no time for thanks to the dates with Yuuma and school time.

Seriously though, why do they not rank this Sacred Gear the highest? It can keep Boosting forever!

Shirone decides to break the silence as she looks at Ryu, "How has Kouh been treating you?" Ryu smiles at her attempt to make a conversation, "….." "I see… I can understand. Teachers will naturally like you for your charisma and intelligence." Ryu deadpans after that though, "….." Shirone laughs, uncertainty obviously mixed with the laugh. "Yeah… The female populace are like that from the lack of males until two years ago. So they'll do that." Giggling, she continues, "Kiba-senpai is on the same boat as you except he didn't get as popular as you in just a span of five days." Ryu, with nothing to say to that, rubs the back of his head in a sheepish manner.

BBBZZZZZZZZT!

Hearing and feeling the vibration from his pocket, Ryu takes out his phone and checks the message. His eyebrows were raised at the fact it was Yuuma, asking if they could go out on a date today. Yuuma never was the one to ask for dates, she always let Ryu choose what days were good, which he made sure to spend as much time as possible with her. "…." Shirone's hidden ears perked up in instinct. "Really? That is strange… In that case, I'll go ahead and let Rias know about this while you go out. Okay?" Shirone, while she didn't like the idea of him going out with someone else, understood that the situation called it and the possibility of her not being there to help him would arise. She didn't underestimate Ryu, but in the supernatural, the most common level was Rank 3. He was still Rank 2 and the Boosted Gear takes time to double the power of the wielder and if the swords were not using their legendary abilities like he said, then that makes things more complicated.

Ryu nods and removes his hung gray jacket from the chair he was sitting on after finishing his breakfast, puts it on over his red shirt, and checks his green camouflage pants to make sure if he was missing something. "…." Shirone nods, "Just be careful, Ryu." Ryu nods as he puts on his combat shoes and red training gloves that cover the entire hand before heading out.

* * *

_**30 Minutes Later, Kouh Streets Crossroad: Ryu**_

Ryu could have left at the time he needed to, but he always preferred being early in cases like these. While waiting, he wondered how Shirone and Ddraig were the only ones who understood him. It was weird, especially since when we he tried to speak to others, it didn't even look like he was moving his mouth to their eyes. One example was when he was "speaking" to Shirone while Yuuto and some fans were near the two and shocked how Shirone understood what he said while Yuuto only saw his mouth move incoherently while the fans didn't even see his mouth move at all. How did Ryu know? They told him, no duh.

"Here, take this!" He suddenly was broken from his confusion and looked to see some female in a stereotypical red devil costume holding out a pamphlet with a symbol on it. He took it, not wanting to be mean, he took it, and did something that became a habit from hanging out with Shirone and Kuroka…

He patted her head.

Result of that?

A slight purr.

This did not go unnoticed by Ryu or Ddraig for that matter.

As the woman left, Ddraig already told him how the woman had demonic energy and also essentially part Devil. Ryu, meanwhile, got to a different conclusion which Ddraig intently listened to.

It was a cat person.

Ddraig facefaulted into his own flames when he heard this.

On a serious note, no pun intended, he looked at the pamphlet and noted that it oozed energy that was linked to Rias. _"…?" _He idly wondered if this was one of those methods Devils use to perform contracts. He shrugs and tosses it away, he didn't intend on working with _only_ Devils. He believed in God and thus, wants to work with Fallen Angels and Angels too and one day, have them coexist. He knows God loves everything, even Devils and Fallen Angels, so Ryu didn't have any ill-will against Devils also.

What? You don't think God doesn't love Devils or Fallen Angels? If He didn't, He could have eradicated them as easily as He created them. It was like Hades being in Hell not because he was evil, but because someone needed to maintain those who did wrong that died. So who's to say that Lucifer was really sent to the Underworld _just_ from defying God?

God already has seen was to come before it actually happens. He could have banished Lucifer soone- actually, not even turn him into His Angel in the first place!

Moving on before debates on Christianity or Catholicism are made….

"Ryu-kun~!" Ryu turns around to see Yuuma, wearing black high heels to go with the black dress and wearing a pink sweater…

Top…

Clothing…

Thing…

Ryu is not really smart when it comes to clothes. He's smart in school, but other things outside that, he's just lost. Nevertheless, he smiles and waves at Yuuma. "I hope I didn't arrive late." He shakes his head and the two began walking.

* * *

_**Mamoru Residence: Ryu and Yuuma**_

"Um… Is this your house, Ryu?" Yuuma nervously asks. She was wondering why they were here even though there not-so-pure thoughts in the back of her mind. The house looked neat and even unique itself which were two pluses in her book already. Ryu nods at the question before heading to the garage section next to the house and opens the entrance, showing his own invention:

(Cue: Main Attraction)

A red, Kawasaki motorcycle.

But that wasn't the part that made it his own invention.

The vehicle was heavily modified with protection around it to prevent damage from outside forces with and added bonus of looking like a dragon's body, simply glistening against both the artificial and sun's rays. A pair of three yellow claws on each sides of the front wheels, a tail on the end which gave more safer space for the one riding in the back.

And the most important and coolest part?

The front that looked like a dragon's head.

Ddraig's head with its green eyes flashing brightly.

This bike, was his invention that was to be a homage to Ddraig. Speaking of Ddraig, his very first reaction to this when he found out his partner made this as a way to represent his "awesomeness" as his partner stated, he shed actual tears.

No one in his life up to now actually looked up to him the way his partner did.

Yuuma was shocked at this and a bit intimidated. It looked like the Red Dragon Emperor in those pictures she saw a few times before. "Um… So… We're going around town on your bike?" Ryu grins and nods before putting on his helmet, also red like the motorcycle and hands Yuuma a purple helmet, which she took and put on. Ryu excitedly hops on the bike which Yuuma soon follows and holds on onto him for dear life. Ryu, with the stupid, happy-go-lucky grin under the helmet, turns the motorcycle on and revs up the engine.

Forgetting purring, this engine _**roared **_to life!

He began to not even bother going slow, he sped right out of the garage, which he closed with a handy button he carries, and proceeded to make a sharp turn towards the main parts of the city.

Oh, the silent laughs Ryu got from the surprised yelp from Yuuma. Ryu, naturally, made a spell to make sure bystanders and officers can never see them or the bike, much less hear the engine. He trusted his skills for once and decided for the first time to speed away to the destination that he wanted to show Yuuma. Ryu deftly dodges the other vehicles and walking by civilians as he drove the two through the roads of Kouh City.

Aaahh, the rush~

(End: Main Attraction)

Sadly, the rush ended there as Ryu slows down to legal speed along with lifting the spell when they arrive near a parking lot and park the vehicle there. Might as well put an invisible spell on it for safety measures. Yuuma was on a completely different world from the ride though.

"Whoa…" Was all she could muster while Ryu removes his helmet then Yuuma's. Her expression made him silently chuckle. He decided to fix her messy hair for her during the time she's recuperating herself from that first time experience. As soon as he was finished, Yuuma blinks and finally snaps out of her daze. "Um… Heheh… Thanks for fixing my hair… And the fun experience." Yuuma smiles at Ryu as she get off. "So where are we?" Ryu points to the side and Yuuma looks. She gasps at what she sees.

It was a carnival! She didn't expect him to be taking her to a carnival of all things! Then again, Ryu was always the fun type of person more than the romantic type. Yuuma was brought out of her thoughts when Ryu grabbed her by the hand and led her to the carnival with one goal in his mind:

Have fun before it all goes downhill.

* * *

_**A Few Hours Later, Kuoh Local Park**_

After the carnival rides and games ended, Ryu decided to play one last game and won Yuuma a little, bronze colored bracelet that's a dragon coiling around in a circle. Yuuma asked Ryu to drive them to the local park where there is a small fountain in the middle. Evening was already setting upon the day as they strolled across the park, holding each other's hands, nearing that very same fountain. She then suddenly proceeds to skip ahead to the fountain. She turns to Ryu with a sweet smile, she asks, "Can I ask you a question?" Ryu nods to this. She takes a big step forward, "In honor of this wonderful date," she takes another big step forward, "There's something I'd like you to do," another step forward as she continues, "To commemorate this special moment," she took one last big step, stopping right in front of him. Ryu nods one last time, this time slower. Yuuma leans in, her face close to his ear.

"Would you die for me?"

Ryu tensed up in preparation as he watched Yuuma transform to her true form. Every physical aspect of her has grown and became more matured, clothing replaced with a type of costume used for those who are the dominatrix type, including a pair of feathery wings, while transforming, he noticed the area changed with the skies turning purple, indigo, and black followed with the area becoming a depressed color.

This was a space manipulation spell. They were now in an artificial reality.

As the swift transformation was completed, she gazes towards Ryu with a smile that replaced the sweet one earlier, now one that just enjoyed watching a bug being crushed.

He, on the other hand, was not smiling at _all._

"I thank you for the wonderful time you've given me. Truly, this was an entirely new experience for me that I actually quite enjoyed. The motorcycle and carnival was an amazing surprise." Her voice was also matured as she turned her gaze to her now held up hand that had the bracelet, smiling at it. "I'm afraid though, that you will have to die. Please, don't hold it against me, instead, blame the God that place that Sacred Gear on you." She summoned a pink spear of demonic light before throwing it.

Ryu, meanwhile, was seething. Pupils and corneas shrinking up to half their usual size.

She did not, just tell him to go on and blame God for giving him Ddraig.

_**Slow Motion…**_

_As the spear was just a few inches away from his stomach, he shifts a complete 90 degrees while side stepping away from it, facing the supposedly deadly weapon as it passes by before extending his hand out to the spear, gently touching it with the tip of his index and middle finger, and he narrows his eyes._

_**Normal Speed…**_

He tilts the spear while he spins a complete 270 degrees, now back to facing "Yuuma" and making the spear also change its trajectory to her. She easily dodges the weapon on instinct, looking back to see her own weapon whizzing past her.

Wait… Her own weapon wouldn't have harmed her anyways.

Unless…

Her eyes widened in realization at what he did, so she tries to undo her mistake of taking her eyes off the target by turning around as fast as possible.

Too late.

(Cue: Tables Turned)

A hand smashes against her face and grabs her by it quite strongly.

Too strong for a mere human!

The owner of the hand, Ryu, throws Yuuma to a building, smashing it to bits as she collided with it from the power behind the throw. Ddraig, with his legendary analytic ability, told Ryu her power. _**[Partner, after analyzing her, I decided to let you know about it. Strength: Rank 1. Speed: Rank 1. Endurance: Rank 2. Magic: Rank 3. While she is below your level in Strength and Speed, I still advice caution.] **_Ryu nods in gratitude and high jumps into the air and begins blasting where she crashed with brown colored energy blasts. His eyes narrowed when he saw spears being thrown and collide with his energy blasts, causing both attacks to implode in small explosions.

Ryu lands back on the ground and dodges an incoming spear after another. Deciding this was going nowhere, he rushed towards the Fallen Angel, dodging a spear that was intended to strike his head and simply singed and lightly cut his right cheek even though it continuously kept grazing him in that area of his face. As soon as he got close, she extended her arm out to impale him with her spear that she was holding. Gaining an idea, he simply moves away from it and grabs her arm and pulls. Using his running momentum added with the momentum of his pulling, he knees her stomach, creating a light, yet harsh resounding crack that resonated from her stomach.

Who said he stopped there though?

Ryu, while still in the motion of kneeing her and his grip on her arm keeping her from getting flown back, twists his body and uses his other leg to knee her in the side of her head. That was when she was finally flown back due to Ryu letting her go before he kneed her the second time and she smashed against a wall of the building that was next to the one that was destroyed. He kicks a small and standing building, cracking it in all around, grabs it, and throws it at her. Yuuma recovered quickly as she did not want to suffer another hit like that by removing herself from the wall, and slices the incoming building in half with a spear, the two halves crashing and embedding themselves in other buildings behind her.

Normally, Yuuma would be in rage, but right now, she needed to focus. She began to summon more spears and throw them. This time, the spears were packed with a lot more energy than the normal needed to make them faster, stronger, and deadlier.

Ryu sensed the increase in the output. Throwing caution in the wind, he began to pick up speed to dodge them, performing backflips, combat rolls, or jumps, not caring if this speed was more than needed to dodge them. He noted the spears are now exploding on contact so he quickly grabs rubble of the destroyed buildings and begins to throw them, big or small.

Yuuma flies around them, dodging or destroying the projectiles racing towards her in high speed. As she dodged the last one, she readied herself to throw her two strongest spear yet. Her battle ready expression turned to shock when she noticed he wasn't there anymore. Once more on instinct, she turns around in time to block two weapons just in the nick of time.

_**CLANG!**_

Her eyes widened in horror at seeing _both_ a demonic and holy sword. Ryu pushes Yuuma with his superior strength, cracking the spear that's blocking the holy sword and he mentally raised an eyebrow at that. Ddraig at least figured it out himself and decides to tell him, _**[She's a Fallen Angel, so she has both a demonic and holy side, it's just about which one the Fallen Angel always has more than the other judging from their personality. Her demonic side is superior than her holy side. Which means...] **_

Ascalon would do a better job.

He kicks her unprotected stomach and sends her down on a rooftop. With her no longer taking up the sky, he curls up to a ball and begins to spin while holding the two swords out. The speed only kept increasing as he comes down from the sky and towards his foe.

Yuuma, seeing this, gets up, and dodges in time see the blades just miss her. Deciding to strike, she lunges with a spear at him.

_**CLANG! **_

But the effort was fruitless when she sees him blocking the tip of the spear with the blunt side of the demonic sword. He pushes the spear away and begins attacking with an unrelenting fury of slashes.

_**CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG!**_

The more she blocked, the more she found herself using magic to repair the damages on her spears when they made contact.

Ryu, deciding to finish this fight, decides to use his superior strength to move the spears away from their position of protecting her and dropkicks her off the rooftop. Flipping himself from the dropkick in order to land back on his feet, he notices the one who betrayed him and foe on the ground, having landed safely. Intending full well to end this battle, he throws Gram at her, making her focus to dodge the incoming legendary weapon, and using that time to jump up in the air, he rockets towards the Fallen Angel foe. Just before she can focus her attention back to him...

_**SHNG!**_

(End: Tables Turned)

Droplets and tiny puddles of blood soon follow after the sound of a slash being made.

_**Drip drip drip...**_

**"AAAAAAAAHHH!"**

A blood curling scream occurred after the pain was finally registered in her body. A gash across her chest diagonally was the reward of his attack making contact. Once more, he came to the conclusion of putting her out of consciousness to prevent any more suffering for her.

(Cue: Stronger Than You Think)

He makes the blades vanish and they burst into their respective white and black colored particles before kicking Yuuma's chin upwards, launching her up high in the air and jumps to match her altitude soon after. Raising up his leg, he sends her down with a downward kick with his full strength to compliment the attack. Creating a large, dust filled explosion and a crater that Yuuma was now on, also quite large...

_**BOOOM!**_

Ryu didn't stop there. Now as he falls back to the ground, he summons his Sacred Gear.

**[Boost!]**

With his overall abilities strengthened by just summoning his weapon and using its primary ability, he plummets towards the ground as fast as he can go while in the air.

Yuuma, as she tries to get up, sees Ryu coming down at her. There was not enough time to dodge it too. So with steel conviction, she summons one last spear with all her magic in it, and she prepares to throw it.

Once more though, she was too late.

_**Slow Motion…**_

_Just as the throw was about to be made, his armored fist crashes down against the tip of the spear. The indestructible God-made weapon backed up with the wielder's momentum and strength easily began to pulverize the weapon into pink magic dust particles as it kept going until it finally reached a few inches from the Fallen Angel's stomach._

_**Normal Speed…**_

_**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**_

A bigger dust filled explosion occurs from the impact, creating an even larger crater, and destroying nearby buildings.

As the dust clears, Ryu could finally seen, standing next to the Fell Angel. Only injury was a singe mark and cut to accompany it on his right cheek. Eyes back to normal. **[Reset.]** Ignoring that near-nonexistent funny feeling of the extra power leaving him, he makes the gauntlet vanish. He looks down to see the Fallen Angel, heavily injured. **[You did an amazing job, partner. You defeated a Fallen Angel. She appears to be alive still. Barely.] **He also noticed how she's still alive and breathing albeit shakily and heavily even though she had most likely shattered ribs, damaged organs where his fist collided against, and most definite internal bleeding. The fact that she got hit by Ascalon and didn't have any magic left in her added to the fact she should be considered lucky.

(End: Stronger Than You Think)

He tenses up when he notices the area around them begin to shift and change between reality and this one. **[She was the one who created this, so with her defeat, her spell is naturally wearing off.] **Ryu makes an "Oh" with his mouth before proceeding to pick Yuuma up from the ground. **[You're not finishing her off?] **"…." **[While it is not statistically the smartest idea, I will trust your judgement.] **The spell finally breaks, showing them back to the very same spot that Ryu was standing before the spell took effect. With just choosing to sigh, he decides to lay her on a bench and began to heal her while placing an invisibility spell on the bench, the Fallen Angel, and himself. After a few moments, he sighs once more. While it was not his forte, he just decided to transfer some of his energy into her and let her own body do the rest for the healing.

Hopefully, she has comrades who will search for her and spot her. The spell is only meant for humans anyways. Lifting the spell on himself, he walks back to where his bike was. He idly noted how the evening was now close to becoming dusk meaning they were fighting for quite a while. He hopped on top of his ride, helmet on, and began driving home while having the extra helmet on his lap.

After arriving in his home with his bike and helmets back in the garage, he wondered how his life at this point will play out. Mildly curious if he made the right choice or not. Shrugging those very worries off, he removes his clothing and prepares himself with the same clothes he use for the night before plunging himself on his bed.

Again, magic was awesome. Who needs a washer and dryer or even need an AC when you have magic?

Best way to save electricity bills, ever.

Ddraig, meanwhile, was thinking on what his partner said back when he told him he decided to spare Yuuma as Ryu slept.

_**["Give everyone a second chance," huh...? His parents raised a fine boy, even if his time with them were short... I am proud to have him as my partner and I'll be the one to take care of him in their stead. This, I promise...]**_

Ddraig never noticed or felt the faint, green colored glow that appeared on the back of his partner's left hand, which vanished soon after.

* * *

_**During that time, ORC Building. Rias, Akeno, Yuuto, and Shirone**_

A single sigh escaped Rias' lips. This didn't go according to plan. Now, she was the indirect reason someone was dead. She cringed at the very sight of Shirone's eyes having constant flashes of anger in her usual stoic and emotionless mask.

How could Shirone not be angry? Rias here decides to pull some "grand plan" of letting the Fallen Angels target the one person outside of family who cared for her and asked nothing but her friendship. Honestly, she was pretty darn confident those that tried to attack him were defeated. She just won't say anything to avoid further suspicion and to see her "master's" face when he comes to school tomorrow on Monday. It's the fact that Rias allowed them to target him in the first place that angered her! She didn't know about Rias' plan to use the Fallen Angels to kill Ryu so she can add him to her Peerage until just half an hour ago!

Kiba was even frowning himself. Rias, while did lose a few points of respect from him, understood what she was doing. He didn't like it, but he understood. He was certain Ryu, his good friend, would still not join Rias' Peerage if they decided to save him from a possible attack. He knew, his mute friend's eyes showed that stubbornness. So what's better than having to be able to revive him while he was near death and most likely wanting to live?

Akeno was a different story entirely.

She was not happy. She was not angry. Instead, she was sad and disappointed. She knew of her best friend's plan all along. She just didn't expect Rias would have literally bet on someone's life to see if they'll use a freaking pamphlet or not.

Obviously, she voiced this to Rias.

"Rias, do you realize what you have done? All because of your selfish desire to not only have another Peerage member and to have someone be able to fight _him_, you decided to not deal with the Fallen Angels and let them possibly kill him? You could have told them this city was yours and Sona's territory."

Rias just goes with sighing again.

Akeno was not feeling lenient today though, "You can't just expect everything to fall on your lap. All because you let yourself be spoiled by your own brother that you believe things will be given on a silver platter."

Rias looks down and nods. "You're right…. I just don't know how I'll break it down to Sona…"

Akeno's frown deepens, "You're on your own with that. I'll be taking my leave right now." Rias' eyes widened and looks up to see Akeno already shutting the door behind her. Shirone, sparing one last glace filled with spite, does the same thing. Rias turns to Kiba and sees him getting up with a respectful bow that was followed up after. "I shall take my leave, Buchou," before Rias can say anything, he leaves the main room also. Now, alone, she looks back down and sighs once last time.

* * *

_**Morning, Kouh Academy Courtyard**_

"Eh? Senpai's alive?"

"Yay! I knew he couldn't have died!"

"Dude, check it out! This guy is still alive!"

"No way! How's that possible!?"

Ryu was wondering why he was presumed dead by fellow schoolmates. Whatever the reason, he was sure he was going to find out soon enough. Before long, classes already began. Just as he was about to enter, he overheard his homeroom teacher speaking.

"Sniff… I regret to- hic… To inform you all… Sniff… Your classmate, Ryu Mamoru… Hic! Died from a car accident…"

He really was thrown off as to why they were presuming him dead, so he did the next thing that came to mind and enter the classroom. First thing he saw was the shocked expressions of his fellow classmates and teacher. Naturally, he takes out his notepad and writes the question that burns in everyone's minds.

"What?"

Sona, being the quickest to recover, answers with the still present shocked tone, "You were presumed dead…"

Ryu tilts his head to the side in innocent wonder on how he was supposedly dead before shaking his head in denial and writing the plain obvious on his notepad, "Well, I don't think I'm dead." He checks his pulse before writing again, "Yeah, I'm not dead!" His eyes closed while he smiles that was beaming in innocence at them.

And after that, the rest of the school day went by pretty interestingly. And awkwardly.

As he was preparing to leave when school was finally over, he stood up and saw something he didn't expect. Rias and her Peerage right in front of the classroom, with the King of the Peerage almost looking as if she was waiting for him to finish. He spares a glance at each of them, though he spared a longer glance at Shirone, which she smiled at, before approaching them.

"Good evening, Mamoru-san." He looks to see Rias next to him with her hands on her hips and smiling.

He couldn't tell if it was a friendly or a smug smile. Either way, he nods at her with a smile also, deciding that her smile was a welcoming one. Rias, seeing the gesture, continued, "I believe there are things we need to discuss." Smile not faltering in the slightest, he nodded.

_**To Be Continued…**_

* * *

**Ending: Rolling Star by Yui**

**(Yume ni made mita you na sekai de arasoi no naku heiwa ni kurashitai) **Camera shows the streets and buildings of Kuoh City that had fast moving shadows of bestial and demonic looking creatures. Suddenly, a human shaped shadow carrying what seemed to be two swords, lunging at the other shadows and the camera panned to show it was actually Ryu jumping up high in the air and then slashed the screen with his swords.

**(****Mou gaman bakka shiterannai yo ****iitai koto wa iwanakucha****) **The screen split into three from the slashes and now shows Ryu jumping across rooftops with Asia on his back and Kuroka and Shirone following behind him, all of them smiling in joy.

**(****Kaerimichi yuugure no basutei ****ochikonda senaka ni Bye Bye Bye!)** The scenery switches to show Rias and Sona playing a game of chess against each other in the ORC Clubroom and their Peerages doing other miscellaneous things or watching their Kings play.

**(****Kimi no Fighting Pose misenai Oh! ****Oh!****)** The scene swapped again to show Ryu standing in the middle of the streets at nighttime, now in his serious personality. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he leapt towards the screen and punches it. This caused it to shatter to small shards of glass.

**(****Yume ni made mita you na sekai wa ****arasoi mo naku heiwa na nichi jyou!****) **Now it demonstrates Ryu blocking a punch from Dohnaseek and counters with a punch of his own to the face, knocking him away. Next, he ducks to avoid a kick from behind by Kalawarner and counters with an uppercut that sent her flying. Lastly, he launches a beam of bronze colored energy at Mittlet that destroyed the incoming light spears in the process.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa hibi to rabu te ****tama ni kuyandari shiteru) **Swiftly turning around, Ryu charges towards Raynare, his gauntlet at the ready and jumps in the air to reach her with an open hand and she responds to throwing a light spear at him.

**(Sonna ROLLING DAYS!) **The entire screen went white right after.

**(Short Instrumental) **_A short series of flashbacks of all the times he fought against his foes that included Stray Devils, Freed, and the Fallen Angels play in his mind._

**(****Kitto uso nante sou imi wo motanai no) **Ryu falls to the floor, the bangs of his hair covers his eyes, and blood littered his torn up clothes and body.

**(All my loving… ****Sou janakya yatterannai!) **Two hands are offered in front of him and looks up to see Rias, Kiba, Akeno, and Asia and the hands belonging to Kuroka and Shirone.

**(Yume ni made mita you na Sweet Love ****koibitotachi wa kakure ga wo sagasu no) **Ryu gladly took the assistance and stood back up on his feet.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa aenai hi ga****tsuzukinagara mo shinjiteru no Lonely days****) **Slowly raising his hand up, Ryu summons his Boosted Gear once more. The gem shines brightly and gives the white background made by the shining moon a more vibrant and beautiful color.

**(Tsumazuitatte Way to go! ****Yeah! Yeah!) **The group behind Ryu smiles at seeing him stand up and as he raised his armored hand up in the air.

**(Dorodarake ROLLING STAR!) **The screen soon becomes engulfed in a sea of green light by the gauntlet.

**End ending song**

* * *

**Now, before I say anything else, this is the personality and mindset I expected you to find in Ryu: He has a serious and focused personality/mindset when in combat or in any type of challenge while having an innocent personality/mindset when not in any immense pressure. The two personalities do not have a mind of their own either like in most cases of duel or multiple personalities. The most obvious part that I will be making sure is the corneas and pupils being shrunk when he's deathly serious on something. This personality problem was created from the incident of his parents with his innocent side being the child self and the serious side being created from combat and his adolescent self. Another thing was that he is dumb when it comes to love and romance or things outside of learning. He needed Ddraig's advice for all the times he went on a date with Yuuma because he was living away from other humans and society for most of his life. He also tends to be extremely observant in almost everything because of his natural curiosity towards the world around him, doesn't matter which personality he is in. If you found these or even one of them, then congratulations. If not, then here you go. Other than that, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	5. Misunderstanding Cleared (?)

**You readers… You're all awesome, I mean it. I've been in this fanfiction business for only two weeks yet my welcome has been a very warm one and has been getting even better. I'm glad this story at least provides entertainment for you. And believe me, I will be trying to make this series as glorious as I can, this is just the first volume so things will be naturally slow-paced. It will have its characters still intact to their original selves or I will at least do my darnest to have it that way since I only said only events will stray from canon. Never said characters will also stray from their original selves. Well… At least everyone except Kuroka, Shirone, and Ddraig.**

**Oh yeah, reviews!**

**N7 Recruit: The chapter's rrriiiight here for you to read and find out.**

**Guest: That hit me right in the inspiration like the other reviews. Thank you. I'll keep cranking those updates!**

**AidosX: I apologize if the Omake was too long for your tastes. I believe the cause was from me trying too hard in making it to be descriptive and detailed. I will attempt to make them shorter next time I try to make one.**

**I don't own Highschool DxD**

"I refuse to give up!" – Speech  
_"I can't keep up…" – Thoughts/Flashbacks speech  
_**[Hang in there!]/[Boost!] – Ddraig speech  
**_**[Through the thick and thin, partner.] – Ddraig thoughts/Flashback speech**_

* * *

**Opening: Sympathy by Larval Stage Planning**

**(Tomo ni mou ichido tachiagare ****mamore hitotsu no inochi…) **The camera shows Ryu landing on the ground and narrowing his eyes at the Peerage of Riser as they prepare themselves for combat. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he charges at them and the green gem begins to glow.

**(****Tayasanu yo niiii!) **The glow stopped and the upcoming clash is replaced with the picture of the Boosted Gear itself across the screen horizontally and the title appears in the middle.

**_"古伝の竜守る Vol 0: 不羈 (Legend of the Dragon Protector, Vol 0: Freedom)"_**

Then the gauntlet and title turn to shiny green particles.

**(****Futatabi otozureta yoake ni me ga samete kimi wo omoi dasu yume no tochuu) **The particles vanished to show the ORC Club and scrolls from left to right to show Rias to Kiba, Akeno, Asia, and finally to Shirone and Kuroka. All of them smiling towards the camera.

**(Me no mae no zanzo susumanai ashidori ****toozakatte yuku hiriki na boku) **Once more, the scenery switched to the Student Council Room and scrolled from right to left this time to show Sona, Tsubaki, Saji, Momo, Reya, Tsubasa, Rukuro, and Tomoe, all smiling at the camera as well.

**(Taisetsu na mono wa doko ni aru? ****Ashita wo shinjiru nara wasurenaide!) **The screen returned back to Ryu charging towards Riser's Peerage and the camera panned to the females and zooms past them and closes in on Riser's smirking face.

**(Ima koso saa inochi wo kakete susumi dasu toki****omoi ga tsuyoi hodo tsuyokunaru!)** Ryu dodges, parries, and counters the attacks of the servants in the Phenex's Peerage and heads straight for Riser after dealing with the females.

**(Hengen suru tsugihagi darake no risou dewa****sugu ni kiete shimau kara!) **Riser flies up in the air with his fire wings and Ryu follows suit with his energy being released through the sole of his feet and shoes and clash high in the sky with fist against fist, kicks against kick, and yellowish colored fires against copper colored lasers.

**(Towa e tsuzuku kawasu chikai****furue dashita karada no soko kara!) **Ryu slowly held up his Sacred Gear and the jewel shines once more with a light so intense that made Riser cover his eyes from its intensity. Red flames spread around Ryu's entire body and an armored silhouette slowly makes it appearance within the flames with emerald green eyes piercing through the red fire.

**End opening song**

* * *

_**Evening, ORC Building: Rias w/Peerage and Ryu**_

Here we are, in the ORC Clubroom Main Room with Ryu, who is sitting on one of the couches and the added people of Rias and her Peerage. Shirone, being his friend, is sitting next to him. She wasn't eating any sweets at the moment though and that slightly off-put the others except Ryu. Kiba is sitting on the other couch across from them. Akeno is in the… Kitchen? Some type of kitchen room next to the main one, making tea. Rias is… Er…

_**PSSSSSHHHHHH**_

Taking a shower by using said shower that is installed in the room…

_**[How quaint…]**_ The sarcasm could be easily heard from Ddraig's tone. Ryu just goes with not saying anything. Not that he really can. Kiba, sensing the awkwardness of this atmosphere and knowing exactly why it was there, decided to strike up a conversation, "So, senpai… How is your injury going? I noticed that you have a piece of cotton with clear tape to keep it on." Exactly as Kiba said, Ryu treated the wound with a piece of cotton dipped in alcohol and just taped it to his cheek to keep it on. Everyone happened to be too focused on the fact he lived to notice that injury during school time. Back to the conversation, Ryu nods and holds up his notepad, "I didn't want it to be infected." He half-truth'd that statement. He knew that his wounds could not be infected from normal germs anymore since he's not normal himself, it was just out of human habits. Plus, it is to hide the singe and cut. Both things are something that need to heal overtime.

Kiba continued to ask, "The car incident really did happen, huh? Heheheh." Ryu smiled and silently chuckled himself at this. Akeno walks back in the main room and places the teacups down on the coffee table, one for each, including one for Rias once she finishes bathing. "Here you all are. Especially for _Ryu-kun_~" Akeno sweetly smiles and adding a sultry tone when she spoke his name that made a tick mark appear on Shirone's head. He smiles in turn and holds up the notepad, "Thanks, Akeno-san." "Fufufu, I gave it a little extra chocolate hazelnut for you also, Ryu-kun." On that note, he takes the teacup and sips it lightly.

Eyes shot open.

Taste buds on overdrive.

Brain working itself to its limit to grasp the flavor.

This. Stuff. Is. Legendary.

After putting the teacup down, he frantically writes on the notepad this time before showing to Akeno, "THIS STUFF IS AWESOME!" She smiles then giggles in response. "Arigatou (Thank you). Perhaps my adorable classmate can do sometime to repay me for my hard work?" She giggles once more, on purposefully ignoring the death stare she got from Shirone. While Ryu, in a blank trance, was actually taking that to heart as it did bring up memories of his early childhood.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

_6 year old Ryu is currently sitting on a chair in front of the table, drinking his chocolate milk that his mother made, kicking his feet back and forth. "Ahh! Thanks for the chocolate milk, mom!" His mom smiles as she turns around to look at him, her beautiful and brown straight and wavy hair flowing in the air from the movement. "Hmhmhm, remember the correct way to thank mom, sweetie." Ryu smiles gleefully before hopping down from the big chair and walking towards his mom, whom leans down and lets her son kiss her cheek._

_**Flashback End**_

* * *

Ryu gets up from the couch and walks up to Akeno, who blinked in confusion along with the others.

Chu~

Ryu kissed Akeno on the cheek.

Naturally, she blushed on instinct from the sudden contact. As he separates his lips from her cheek, she looks into his eyes, which he soon closed and grinned widely while doing so. He opens his eyes back up and his grin turns back to his usual and ever-present smile. Akeno soon shakes the shock and embarrassment off, but the pinkish red color on her cheeks remain present, "Ara, I didn't know you were so bold, Ryu-kun~" Ryu's natural and innocent response was to show her his notepad that gave her a large stab to the heart from what it said:

"My mom always wanted me to kiss her on the cheek whenever she made something for me as a thank you. I thought you would want the same."

Successfully masking the pain, she smiles at him, "Well thank you for that." Ryu nods and sits back down, Kiba and Shirone having also felt the stab of pain after seeing what he wrote.

Ryu's ears perk up and looks to see Rias out of the shower with only a towel.

A blink was performed.

That was the only thing he could do before someone decided to comment on the red-head's choice of apparel. Outrageously so if one would say.

**[For Christ's sake, Gremory, put on some damn clothes! We have a kid who's managed to keep his innocence to this day and we don't need you to ruin it!] **Everyone _flinched _at the powerful and booming voice and Rias instinctively used magic to create the school uniform on herself. Shirone now sighs at realizing what just happened. _"Why did Ddraig have to shout it out?"_ Kiba was the first to recover. "Wait, who was that?" **[Room service!]** "Um... There is no room service." With that said, everyone except Ryu and Shirone begin to look around. **[I guess the cat is out of the bag… No offense meant to you, Toujou.] **Shirone nods, "None taken." Now they fix their attention to Ryu once they finally pinpointed the origin of the voice. "Ryu-kun, you can actually speak?" Rias' response was a shake of his head and finger that pointed to his left arm. "…." **[Alright, alright, I got it, partner. It was me. The one who exists in his left hand. And let us settle the big secrets since you know about me: Partner and I know you're Devils.] **Everyone, except again Ryu and Shirone, gasp in shock of the secret being out and the green glow that emanated from the back of Ryu's left hand. "Are you… His Sacred Gear? And you could tell what we were and who I was?" **[Yes, I am. Even if I am trapped, I can still sense you all. I have lived for quite a long time to know of what Pillar you're from.] **Akeno just stares in awe. "Sugoi (Awesome/Amazing)…"

Rias stares at Ryu and his glowing hand. She smiles after a few moments though, "In that case, allow us to properly introduce ourselves. I am Rias Gremory of the Gremory Clan from the 72 Pillars of the Underworld. A High-Class Devil. A pleasure, Ryu Mamoru." Bat-like wings pop out from her back. "Fufu. My name is Akeno Himejima, Rias' Queen. Please, let us get along as classmates and as friends." She bows and shows the same wings as Rias'. Kiba stands up from the couch and bows next, "I'm Kiba Yuuto, Rias' Knight. I hope our growing friendship and not hampered from being a Devil too." The bat-like wings also appear from his back. Shirone instead hugs his torso and snuggles him. "You already know me..." A light blush spreads across her cheeks to go with her still stoic expression and even purrs when she felt Ryu gently pet her head.

Kiba decides to make this atmosphere comfortable for Ryu. " Senpai, I also wield a Sacred Gear like you." Ryu looks at Kiba in awe and holds his fist out for him and his other hand holding his notepad, "Sacred Gear Buddies!" Kiba chuckles and fist pumps him from across the table in response.

Rias, on the other hand, coughs to gain attention. "So you _do _have a Sacred Gear?" Ryu nods. Rias continues, "May we see it?" _**[Shake your head.]**_ Continuing to trust the Welsh Dragon for as long as he can remember, he shakes his head. Rias doesn't even raise her eyebrow in question from the refusal, _"I should have figured he wouldn't respond. He can't be the one to be choosing not to show it though." _"May we know why not?" Ryu was about to write his notepad until Ddraig stepped in, **[Why do you wish to know about partner so suddenly?]** His tone marked suspicion. Rias blinked in confusion, "Um… Beca-" **[Let me assert that, why did your familiar suddenly make an appearance next to partner today? Including in giving him a pamphlet?] **Rias' eyes widened. "Wait, how did yo-" **[Let's reinforce that, how did anyone know any incident happen that involved partner? Firstly, there was no one around the cause of his injury and that leads to the second reason which is…. There was no car accident.]**

That was the big finisher and Rias could only sputter incoherently in an attempt to give a reason.

**[You see, at the familiar section, I gave you the benefit of the doubt. But when the false news of a car accident occurred, I knew you were planning something. And I knew then who you were using for information.] **Shirone's eyes widened, not from the facts the being laid out, but because he was successfully avoiding the fact that she told him and Ryu of Rias' plan on using her for information to prevent any issues with Rias. Akeno looked amused. Did you expect her to be shocked? She was at first. Then, the sealed being was already naming the flaws of the operation. Kiba was in the same boat albeit still surprised someone who is trapped in a Sacred Gear was metaphorically tossing Rias around like a worn out ragdoll. He and Shirone had to suppress chuckles and giggles respectively. Rias, though…. "I-… Um… Ah… I just-… I just thought he might have needed help?" **[…. You store your logic in your chest, don't you?]**

That clinches it for her Peerage.

Everyone, except Rias and Ryu, started to laugh while Ryu was just drawing with his tongue sticking upwards to the side from concentration, sipping from his tea of sheer epicness. Rias was extremely unhappy if the tears in the corners of her eyes that threatened to fall off were anything to go by. "That's not true!" She flails her arms frantically in the air as she denies it. **[Do they have that extra spring when you take a step because your logic wants to go back to your brain and it gets suffocated?] **Akeno's legs couldn't handle it and falls to her knees, using the edge of the desk to support herself from falling. Kiba just crouches forward and holds his pained sides from too much laughter. Shirone falls on Ryu's lap from not being able to even sit up straight due to laughing too much. Our main character is a different story entirely. He doesn't even notice whatever is happening and too focused on drinking his tea and drawing.

How is he even doing that? The few times Ddraig actually makes jokes, he just seems to be busy doing something else.

Rias… Well… She was in a corner, sulking.

**[On a serious note, why do these things? It's understandable to not get involved though the pamphlet peaked my curiosity.] **Ddraig knew why. He just wanted to hear her say it and see what will be Ryu's reaction since he never figured out Rias' plan and chose not to tell his partner about it. Somehow, Rias appeared on the fancy revolving chair behind the big desk instantaneously and she coughs to get their attention. Akeno, Kiba, Shirone, and Ryu look at Rias after straightening themselves out with an unbelievably swift speed. "Since you asked… Ryu Mamoru, I wanted to have you in my Peerage. Do you know what those are?" Ryu shakes his head. Rias' hidden eyebrows are raised, along with the others. "Really?" **[I chose to not tell him for reasons. He only knows about what they increase. A Pawn increases all four main aspects of strength, speed, endurance, and magic slightly of the one being reincarnated. A Bishop Piece increases magic. Knight increases speed and strength in terms of weaponry. Rook increases sheer strength and defense. The more Pieces needed in the reincarnation, the stronger is the Peerage member in the aspect each of the Evil Piece represents. Queen, on the other hand, is the only one yet it increases all main four aspects while King is a stronger version of the Queen. Pawn, although considered the weakest, can Promote when deemed by the King to be in enemy territory.]**

Rias nods in satisfaction of the spirit's extensive knowledge. "It is made to make the ones reincarnated into the King's servants. So will you join? I have a Knight, a Bishop, or perhaps Pawn?" Ryu holds up his notepad, "I'd rather not join." Rias quickly thought up of solving the issue that could be it, "We, Gremory, are known to be kind to our servants and treat them like family." She smiles in reassurance. It immediately turns to a frown when Ryu shakes his head again though there was a split second of consideration when he heard "family." Kiba, knowing the answer, decided to be the one to ask, "How come, Ryu-senpai?" "I like being a human. I get stronger through it too." Akeno quickly speaks of a way to possibly make him reconsider, "Being like us Devils can help you strengthen the lineage of yours though." The only thing that she got was a tilting of his head and an expression that clearly says confusion. **[Partner has no supernatural or special lineage.]**

_**Clunk!**_

The only sound in the now silent room was Rias' cup lightly hitting itself against the desk when she dropped it. Shirone was smirking the entire time as soon as the conversation about the Evil Pieces started and has gone back to eating sweets. **[Surprising? Understandable. Partner is someone who achieved it through hard work and he had nothing to start with. He simply found a way to work around certain things and find a way to give himself the power.] **Rias, after shaking out of her large stupor and cleaning her desk, nods in affirmation."I can sense he's at least Middle Cla-" **[Rank 2.]** "Eh?" **[Partner designed a new ranking system and I approve of it. It's tiresome to keep hearing someone being named "God Class" or "Ultimate Class." It became boring and annoying. The new system he made consists of Rank 1, Rank 2, Rank 3, Rank 4, Rank 5, and Rank 6.] **"Um…?" **[Sigh... Low Class are Rank 1, Middle Class are Rank 2, High Class are Rank 3, Ultimate or Demi-Gods are Rank 4, Maous, Seraphs, Cadres, and Gods are Rank 5, and Rank 6 beings are Lucifer, Archangel, Governor-General, and Elder Gods. This system is to individually name the four combat aspects of a someone in the supernatural that is Strength, Speed, Endurance, and Magic or overall by Ranks.] **Ddraig and Shirone wanted to facepalm when they heard the collective "Ooohhh" from the Gremory, Fallen Angel-Devil Hybrid, and the other Sacred Gear holder.

Kiba at this point, wanted to ask one of the big questions, "Why are you being so cooperative with us even after finding our master's plan though?" That got everyone's attention. **[For one, you never did anything statistically wrong, Gremory. You could not interfere with Fallen Angels in fear of the flames of war sparked once more and if what you said is true about simply trying to help by reincarnate him by death, then you really did nothing wrong. The methods may seem... Manipulative at first if one does not look deep enough.] **Rias smiled at being told she was pretty much innocent, Akeno and Kiba were also smiling from at least having a friend and ally. Shirone was thinking something else entirely, but kept it to herself. "I have a question!" Ryu holds up his notepad for those present to see. Smiling still, Rias was the first to respond, "Very well, Ryu-kun. You can say it." Ryu writes on his notepad again and shows it to them, "How did you know I was attacked?" Akeno decided to answer it, "It was a simple thing to sense a space manipulation spell being used. The _Fallen Angel _certainly didn't hide their magic." The present venom did not go unnoticed by everyone in the room.

Except Ryu. As usual.

"Oohhh… Anyways, I'm glad there was no problem between us." Everyone nodded when they saw Ryu's notepad. Ryu, now standing up, walks up to Rias, and holds his arms out which confused the Gremory heiress. "..." **[He wants to give you a hug to show no hard feelings.] **Rias slowly and hesitantly nodded and walks up to him, wrapping her arms around his lower back and Ryu wraps his arms around her upper back in response then separate after a short moment. Rias smiled while Ryu grinned. The grin turns back into a smile as he turns around and walks to an opened window. He holds up his notepad one last time, "Doors are overrated," and backflips out through the window. Everyone chuckled at his antic. Kiba looks towards Shirone and frowns, "How come you didn't say anything during our conversation, Shirone?" With her stoic face back on full force, she simply answers, "I have my reasons and I did not need to." Rias frowns at the answer. Akeno looks towards Rias, "I think we found someone who's not like other men, Rias~" Rias' frown turns back into a small smile. "Yeah, you're right." Shirone narrows her eyes at the two. _"Why does it have to be Ryu out of all people?"_

* * *

_**Kouh Park: Ryu**_

Ryu was now currently swinging on a swingset. He always loved being here when he was little and jump off of it with some added flip he performed in midair when jumped off. It brought back a smile to his face. Even if they were gone, the time they spent was short, but it was a precious time to him nonetheless.

_**Thud!**_

"Owww…"

His ears pick up on someone falling and a moan of pain, turning to look at who it was, he silently gasps on the fact it was a nun. A blonde haired nun whose hair went down to their back with green eyes that matched Ryu's innocence. He quickly jumps off from the swing and rushes to the nun to assist. "Auu… Grazie (Thank you)…" Ryu immediately detects this as Italian and immediately turns on his "Mental Translator." Nodding, he takes out his notepad to write and shows it in Italian, "You're welcome." The nun gasps, "I apologize for not realizing you were mute, sir!" Ryu shakes his head to ease her worry and smiles which she returns in kind.

_**Fwuooohhh~**_

A wind blows away the nun's veil whom now tries to chase it until seeing it was going as high as to the rooftop of the buildings. She looks down and frowns. Ryu places a reassuring hand on the nun's shoulder and grins. _"What is he… Do…ing…?" _Her thoughts were interrupted midway when she saw the man who helped her up, begin climbing up buildings at a rapid pace, and gave chase to the still flying veil and not even seeming to mind jumping across obstacles or to other rooftops. Once he caught it, he went down to the roof of a small store, jumped off from it, and combat rolled to negate most of the impact. As Ryu returns back with the nun's veil, he snickered silently at seeing her mouth agape. "Whoa! Are you one of the fabled 'freerunners'!?" Once he returns the veil back to her, he cheekily smirks before jumping in the air, curling into a ball in midair, and flipped backwards twice before uncurling himself and lands back on his feet.

The nun stares in amazement with stars around her and in her pupils. "That's amazing~" After a moment, she gasps at remembering why she was here. "You can understand me, right?" She sighs in relief when she saw him nod. "That is a relief. I have been trying to communicate with others for directions ever since I got here but no one understands me and I've been told to come here to a church in this city. Do you know where it is?" Ryu's mind worked on overdrive. There were no operating churches and there was only one yet it is abandoned. He takes out his notepad again, "I know where it is. By the way, my name is Ryu Mamoru." She gasps once more as she hasn't introduced herself. "My name is Asia Argento. Pleased to meet you!" The tilt their heads and torsos forward slightly at each other in orderly greeting between a person and one that serves the church.

"Wwwaaahhh!" Ryu and Asia jump in surprise and turn to see a child whom was crying from an injured leg. Ryu was about to go and discreetly heal him but instead, Asia rushes in and kneels beside the child, "Oh no, a big boy like you musn't cry! Here, allow me to help." The next thing she did caught Ryu by surprise. Two rings, each in her ring finger, began to glow green, and healed the entire injury with swift speed. _**[Sacred Gear. I would take a gamble and say it's "Twilight Healing." Even if it was a small injury, such healing speed definitely marks it as the unique and effective Sacred Gear.] **__"….?"_A small chuckle rumbled from Ddraig. _**[Perceptive as always, partner. Yes, the term "Twilight" in the name is because she can heal any type of being. Even Angels, Fallen Angels, and Devils.]**_

Ryu mentally nods at this and returns back to reality to witness the child giving Asia a warm hug before he runs back to his mother who was grateful. Deciding to put in his two cents, he approaches the child, and holds up his notepad, "Make sure to make every moment with your mother last." The child, having seen Ryu perform his tricks and tried to mimic the freerunner which is why he got injured in the first place, looked up to the him with eyes of admiration, and nods furiously. Ryu smiles as did Asia at seeing the child's expression and the duo begin to walk away from the park and to the church.

* * *

_**Kuoh Streets: Rias and Akeno**_

The Two Great Ladies of Kuoh, Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima, are simply taking a stroll around the busy streets of Kuoh City. "So… Do you think he is innocent?" Akeno looks at Rias, contemplating the red-head's question. "He didn't know at the time, I can tell that much. He would have helped them even if he knew though." Rias looks down in contemplation.

_**Bump**_

Rias and Akeno both back up when they hit a person and both the two childhood friends and person stumble a bit before looking at each other. Rias stares intently, "Ryu-kun?" Ryu smiles and waves. "Ara, it's Ryu-_kun_~" Akeno presses herself against Ryu, "You hugged Rias yet you never hugged me back in the club room~" The Gremory heiress frowns and crosses her arms under her chest. Not minding the passing by stares or from her friend, Akeno's expression turns more seductive. Ryu, being the "genius" he is, just gives Akeno a big and strong hug, still smiling the entire time. Soon after, he lets a now blinking and shocked Akeno go, not noticing the nun next to Ryu who he introduces to them. Asia sticks to just smiling and bowing in greeting, "Hello. I am Asia Argento." Rias flinched at the holy aura she emitted though she bows back nonetheless, "Nice to meet you, Asia. My name is Rias Gremory and the one who's shocked is Akeno Himejima." After her name being mentioned, Akeno finally snaps out of it and bows back. Ryu, satisfied with the answer, waves goodbye and walks away with Asia.

Rias looks at Akeno and laughs, "Haha…. H- how does it feel t- hahaha… to have your teasing backfiring by someone… Hahah… Who didn't even register it?" Akeno surprisingly smiles. "Disappointing from my attempts not working the way I want them to be yet…" She places a hand on her cheek, "It's still pleasant all the same~" Akeno stares off in the distance at the hug that did not have that lecherous feeling to it and how nice it felt for even a hug that was just exactly what it was, a hug.

* * *

_**Kuoh Abandoned Church: Ryu and Asia**_

The two stop at the entrance of the church. Asia stops in front of him and bows, "Thank you so much for your assistance, Mr. Mamoru. I'd also like to thank you for showing me around some parts of the city and buying food for me." Ryu chuckles silently and pats her head. "Ryu is just fine. Be sure to give me a call whenever you need it." Asia nods after reading from his notepad and makes sure she has the piece of paper that had his phone number. Ryu waves goodbye and storms out with a burst of speed.

"Asia Argento?"

Asia jumps at the voice and turns around to see a thigh length, blue colored haired woman wearing a jacket with a few top buttons open, exposing a large amount of her also large chest, blue colored pants that seemed to be a bit tight, and heels. Her facial structure showed she was possibly in her 20's with yellowish brown eyes.

"U-um… Yes…?" "No need to be nervous. My name's Kalawarner, one of the people who live in this church. And a Fallen Angel." Asia gulps heavily at that revelation. "Nice to meet you… Kalawarner Tenshii-san." Kalawarner smiles at the teen, though one who knew about fake expressions would be able to tell the smile had hidden intentions. "Very good, now come on in. Now… Your assignment first is to heal one of my own and to go with a fellow exorcist on a mission once you're done. Come, more details will be given inside." Asia nods and enters the church with the Fallen Angel with the door magically beginning to close behind them. The last thing that could be seen was the mature Fallen Angel looking out through the door where the running teen went.

_"Is he the one? Either way, I should let them know."_

_**SLAM!**_

* * *

_**Nighttime, Mamoru Residence: Ryu**_

Ddraig deduced that this was apparently a thing.

Rias and her entire freaking Peerage, asked to come inside Ryu's house about 10 minutes ago once he finished his freerunning sessions. He didn't mind of course, but… Really? Just almost two hours and she already considered herself as able to be welcomed. Whether it's because she had Shirone, from the sign of trust given back at the club room, or to take advantage of his kindness.

Ddraig hoped for her life and safety it is not the first or third choice or so help him...

Ryu was happy though. Ecstatic, even. He finally had new people in his home! And more friends! Who doesn't want that when you're someone like Ryu!? Anyways, Kiba was reading a book from his recently installed and self-made bookshelves that are in the living room. Shirone was eating Ryu's home-made cheesecake. All of the three sitting on the big couch. Akeno and Rias were actually cooking sushi with a side of miso soup. Ryu, himself, was showing Shirone card tricks that completely kept baffling her to this day because she sensed absolutely no magic used and there was no explainable trick like being too fast to see or some hidden secret with the cards he uses. Example?

Ryu waves a hand over the card Shirone picked and it vanished once his hand passed over it, shocking the young Neko Youkai. Shirone looks at Ryu and asks, "Where is the card?" Ryu points at her skirt, specifically, her pocket. She searches her skirt's pockets and eyes widened once more when she felt something in deed in her pocket, she gasps when she takes out the very same card out of her pocket.

Kiba, being the nice person that he succeeds in doing, wanted to converse with our main hero, "It's truly a marvelous home, senpai. The furniture is incredibly comfortable and the helpful convenience of books to read is next to me." Ryu smiles. "…." **[He says, "Thank you" and asked "How is the story?"] **Kiba nods approvingly, "This story is quite addicting. The theories on human evolution and adaptation are the most interesting. There was the one story of how someone built a wooden house in the wilderness and even made hydroelectricity from a river entirely from scratch which really caught my interest and another one is saying how humans became resistant or immune to diseases they used to be affected by over the years through evolution. I honestly never knew this." Yes, Ddraig has begun to be Ryu's "voice" when conversing those whom originate from the supernatural. It wouldn't be too surprising to hear a talking left hand by those in the supernatural, right? Right?

…. Right?

Ugh… Moving on.

Before the conversation could go further, Rias' distress from the kitchen was heard by everyone, "Aww… We're out of rice…." Akeno frowns at the lack in the proper amount of rice. "…" **[Agreed, we shall leave to purchase more rice.]** "Are you sure, I can go inste-" Kiba stops mid-sentence when Ryu held up a hand that said, "Stop," in body language. Kiba nods and Ryu gets up. "Be careful, Ryu." Ryu looks back to see Shirone and nods to soothe her worry. Akeno and Rias begin preparing the soup instead to pass by the time he needs to get the rice. "Come back quickly, Ryu-kun." Ryu again nods at Rias' request and leaves through the front door.

* * *

_**Ryu's Neighborhood**_

Ryu was walking towards the local supermarket until something stopped him.

Corneas and pupils shrank considerably, signifying his opposite personality and mind were now the dominant one.

Blood. It was the scent of blood.

Killing intent. Unstable too.

Holy energy spikes were also another thing he began to notice.

And it was starting to become harder to pinpoint it fast pace.

With his new objective of finding out the origin, he begins hunting for these three sources by running around the neighborhood, the sources beginning to be dim out. In the nick of time though, he finally stood in front of a house. It seemed to be covered in a now fully erect force field. While the force field wasn't exactly the strongest, it still blocked anything that can be sensed from outside.

Clever. Very clever.

The stench, intent, and spike of energy were all clearly from here, no doubt.

**[Be prepared, partner.] **

Nodding in agreement, he kicks the door open. He quickly rushes in the house and what he saw shocked him to the core.

"_Heheheheh~ Punish the wicked~"_

_**To Be Continued…**_

* * *

_**Ryu Mamoru Short 2**_

Ryu himself walks in the room. **[Greetings, everyone. Today, we want to teach you another unique factor of this story: Energy saturation.]** A holographic and 3D design of the Earth appears on the palm of my now extended hand. **[Energy saturation: When the world someone is in has absorbed the energy residue around it.] **Now, a transparent image of strips of energy appears on the world. **[The absorption process is exactly congruent to the soil absorbing water.] **Now the hologram showed the energy strips going inside the Earth. **[Soon after, the world begins to harness it to even its core itself.] **The strips of energy go deeper to the point they reach the planet's now visible core. **[It then begins to "evolve" itself and starts to develop a resistance to the energy and strengthens itse-] **Ddraig stops when he noticed the hologram of Earth now had two muscular arms attached to it. **[Is it really the best method to illustrate this, partner?] **Ryu frowns and pouts. This only made Ddraig sigh in defeat. **[Anyways, it strengthens itself through that residue and grows a resistance to it. So take for example, a Rank 4 level being able to easily destroy a world, but from the energy saturation, the power used to destroy the world, it only destroys a city instead.] **Ryu makes the hologram vanish from his palm and lowers said palm. He bows and proceeds to leave the room that looked like some type of classroom.

* * *

**Ending: Rolling Star by Yui**

**(Yume ni made mita you na sekai de arasoi no naku heiwa ni kurashitai) **Camera shows the streets and buildings of Kuoh City that had fast moving shadows of bestial and demonic looking creatures. Suddenly, a human shaped shadow carrying what seemed to be two swords, lunging at the other shadows and the camera panned to show it was actually Ryu jumping up high in the air and then slashed the screen with his swords.

**(****Mou gaman bakka shiterannai yo ****iitai koto wa iwanakucha****) **The screen split into three from the slashes and now shows Ryu jumping across rooftops with Asia on his back and Kuroka and Shirone following behind him, all of them smiling in joy.

**(****Kaerimichi yuugure no basutei****ochikonda senaka ni Bye Bye Bye!)** The scenery switches to show Rias and Sona playing a game of chess against each other in the ORC Clubroom and their Peerages doing other miscellaneous things or watching their Kings play.

**(****Kimi no Fighting Pose misenai Oh! ****Oh!****)** The scene swapped again to show Ryu standing in the middle of the streets at nighttime, now in his serious personality. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he leapt towards the screen and punches it. This caused it to shatter to small shards of glass.

**(****Yume ni made mita you na sekai wa****arasoi mo naku heiwa na nichi jyou!****) **Now it demonstrates Ryu blocking a punch from Dohnaseek and counters with a punch of his own to the face, knocking him away. Next, he ducks to avoid a kick from behind by Kalawarner and counters with an uppercut that sent her flying. Lastly, he launches a beam of bronze colored energy at Mittlet that destroyed the incoming light spears in the process.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa hibi to rabu te ****tama ni kuyandari shiteru) **Swiftly turning around, Ryu charges towards Raynare, his gauntlet at the ready and jumps in the air to reach her with an open hand and she responds to throwing a light spear at him.

**(Sonna ROLLING DAYS!) **The entire screen went white right after.

**(Short Instrumental) **_A short series of flashbacks of all the times he fought against his foes that included Stray Devils, Freed, and the Fallen Angels play in his mind._

**(****Kitto uso nante sou imi wo motanai no)**Ryu falls to the floor, the bangs of his hair covers his eyes, and blood littered his torn up clothes and body.

**(All my loving… ****Sou janakya yatterannai!) **Two hands are offered in front of him and looks up to see Rias, Kiba, Akeno, and Asia and the hands belonging to Kuroka and Shirone.

**(Yume ni made mita you na Sweet Love ****koibitotachi wa kakurega wo sagasu no)**Ryu gladly took the assistance and stood back up on his feet.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa aenai hi ga****tsuzukinagara mo shinjiteru no Lonely days****) **Slowly raising his hand up, Ryu summons his Boosted Gear once more. The gem shines brightly and gives the white background made by the shining moon a more vibrant and beautiful color.

**(Tsumazuitatte Way to go! ****Yeah! Yeah!) **The group behind Ryu smiles at seeing him stand up and as he raised his armored hand up in the air.

**(Dorodarake ROLLING STAR!) **The screen soon becomes engulfed in a sea of green light by the gauntlet.

**End ending song**

* * *

**I was never planning on doing "bashing" Rias if anyone was wondering, it's just that Ddraig doesn't trust Rias yet. I do not plan to "bash" on supporting or other main characters from the original show/story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter also! Speaking of which, another thing that could have been learned of Ryu in this chapter was his trauma caused the lessons he learned and were taught by his parents to stick to his very heart, consciousness, and subconsciousness like glue. Remember, there will continue to be chapter updates to this story on a weekly basis or per two weeks for those who worry on late updates, long breaks, or hiatus for there will be none of that! Just seeing you readers simply view this already gives me the inspiration and anything else just adds more fuel to the fire of my passion to write/type this! I'd like to also thank the two communities, "****Insanity-Red's Library of Favorites" and "****The Archive for Self Inserts and Original Characters" for adding my story in your respective archives. Sincerely, thank you.**


	6. A Dragon's Fury and Trust Built

**Yes, a new chapter just a day after the previous one. Why? Because I can and you get the entertainment and enjoyment out of it. So, ladies and readersmen, I present to you the next chapter of "Legend of the Dragon Protector!" I've been actually thinking to changing it to "Koden no Ryu Mamoru" though it's basically just the title in Japanese.**

**Reviews!**

**Aidosx: Thank you for the positive review!**

**Relic of the White Shadows: Aahh, my man, it's been a while! Thanks for the positivity-ness!**

**Blazedragon94: Holy fudge nuggets… I didn't realize that... You, Blaze, are exceptionally perceptive. I like it. But moving on to Ryu's personality: While you are right in the similarities being there, his was caused through trauma. The trauma would have been something that he could have gotten over if he was with other family members or in an orphanage to have people to be with but because that never happened that "wound" festered and got worse until that same "wound" split apart his personality.**

**I don't own Highschool DxD.**

"I refuse to give up!" – Speech  
_"I can't keep up…" – Thoughts/Flashbacks speech  
_**[Hang in there!]/[Boost!] – Ddraig speech  
**_**[Through the thick and thin, partner.] – Ddraig thoughts/Flashback speech**_

* * *

**Opening: Sympathy by Larval Stage Planning**

**(Tomo ni mou ichido tachiagare ****mamore hitotsu no inochi…) **The camera shows Ryu landing on the ground and narrowing his eyes at the Peerage of Riser as they prepare themselves for combat. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he charges at them and the green gem begins to glow.

**(****Tayasanu yo niiii!) **The glow stopped and the upcoming clash is replaced with the picture of the Boosted Gear itself across the screen horizontally and the title appears in the middle.

**_"古伝の竜守る Vol 0: 不羈 (Legend of the Dragon Protector, Vol 0: Freedom)"_**

Then the gauntlet and title turn to shiny green particles.

**(****Futatabi otozureta yoake ni me ga samete kimi wo omoi dasu yume no tochuu) **The particles vanished to show the ORC Club and scrolls from left to right to show Rias to Kiba, Akeno, Asia, and finally to Shirone and Kuroka. All of them smiling towards the camera.

**(Me no mae no zanzo susumanai ashidori ****toozakatte yuku hiriki na boku) **Once more, the scenery switched to the Student Council Room and scrolled from right to left this time to show Sona, Tsubaki, Saji, Momo, Reya, Tsubasa, Rukuro, and Tomoe, all smiling at the camera as well.

**(Taisetsu na mono wa doko ni aru? ****Ashita wo shinjiru nara wasurenaide!) **The screen returned back to Ryu charging towards Riser's Peerage and the camera panned to the females and zooms past them and closes in on Riser's smirking face.

**(Ima koso saa inochi wo kakete susumi dasu toki****omoi ga tsuyoi hodo tsuyokunaru!)** Ryu dodges, parries, and counters the attacks of the servants in the Phenex's Peerage and heads straight for Riser after dealing with the females.

**(Hengen suru tsugihagi darake no risou dewa****sugu ni kiete shimau kara!) **Riser flies up in the air with his fire wings and Ryu follows suit with his energy being released through the sole of his feet and shoes and clash high in the sky with fist against fist, kicks against kick, and yellowish colored fires against copper colored lasers.

**(Towa e tsuzuku kawasu chikai****furue dashita karada no soko kara!) **Ryu slowly held up his Sacred Gear and the jewel shines once more with a light so intense that made Riser cover his eyes from its intensity. Red flames spread around Ryu's entire body and an armored silhouette slowly makes it appearance within the flames with emerald green eyes piercing through the red fire.

**End opening song**

* * *

_**Last Time…**_

_**[Be prepared, partner.]**_

_Ryu nods in agreement and kicks the door open. He rushes inside the house and what he say shocked him to the very core._

"_Heheheheh~ Punish the wicked~_

_**Now…**_

Ryu has never been this disgusted by a human in his entire teenage life. This man- _monster_ just stapled a cut up corpse to a wall. This "monster" had platinum blonde hair with silvery colored eyes and the strangest part was the fact that he just seemed older than Ryu by a few years. "Ara?" The man in question turned to Ryu and frowns, "Who are you, kid? You're not one of those shitty Devils." Once the man steps away from the corpse, Ryu notices he's wearing white clothes with a black cloak. _**[Exorcist. An excommunicated Exorcist if his actions are any indication. They turn to Fallen Angels after being given the "boot" by official churches.] **__"…?" __**[Strength: Rank 2 in weaponry, Speed: 2, Endurance: 1, and Magic: 2. He's almost like the Knight.]**_

Ryu switches his attention back to the ex-Exorcist. **[We're here because we sensed your energy.] **"Holy shit!" The exorcist jumps back in shock, "Who the fuck was that?" He looks around before looking back at our hero and sees the green glow on the back of his hand. "Did your hand just speak, kid?" **[Yes, his hand just spoke. He cannot speak himself.] **"Hah? A talking hand? Weirdo." Ryu's eyes just narrow. **[Who are you and why did you kill the human over there?]**

The answer they got wasn't what Ryu expected.

"Me? I might as well tell since you'll die. I'm Freed Sellzen, an excommunicated Exorcist. Why? Because he was calling for a shitty Devil. Every human should just die when they try to summon those things since they lose the right to live and their humanity."

"…." **[My partner is correct. Even if that were true, humans have the right to choose whatever they wish to do in their life. They'll suffer the consequences or get their rewards on their own from their successes and mistakes.] **"Ara ara? I'm being corrected by some kid with a talking hand? Whatever, you're not supposed to be here so I'll just end you~!" Freed charges at Ryu with a blade made out of light.

* * *

_**10 Minutes Earlier, Mamoru Residence: Rias and her Peerage**_

After Ryu left to get the groceries, Kiba finished another chapter of the book he was reading and turned to face Shirone. "Say, Shirone, why is it that you look up to Ryu so much?" Shirone can feel the gaze of Rias and Akeno once he finished speaking. She doesn't bother looking back at him, "He showed me kindness. He gave me many things. He cared for me and took care of me. He showed me that I wasn't the only who suffered. In return, he just wanted me to be his friend…"

Kiba blinked and looked back at the closed book in his lap. "I can relate to him. Everyone here knows of my past. I didn't have any parents to begin with in my case. But to still lose them at such a young age and only be able to enter an orphanage barely before turning 16… It's horrible. I can't really imagine what happened during those years in between."

Akeno looks down at the soup and stares down at her own the reflection. "… Rias." Rias turns to Akeno, "Hmm?" "I think-…. I believe we should stop trying to recruit him and try to get to know him. It's understandable that you have had all of us including _him_ into your Peerage from your luck and position as the sister of the current Lucifer. But he's a different story. He has been able to take care of himself against the supernatural and harsh life and actually appreciate the good things he's had. He also seems to be free-spirited and enjoys his freedom. Who are we to take it from him?"

Rias simply smiles to Akeno, "I thought we were already trying to be his friend." Akeno stares at her King with some slight surprise and Rias focuses back on making the soup. "I understand that I haven't lived the kind of life you all have lived and I consider myself fortunate to have everything I need and want. That's why I understand that you have all suffered hardships and I wish to understand that kind of pain myself. So you all can share your burdens with me. I guess I needed someone like Ryu-kun to remind me about that and stop thinking so selfishly after I got my one and only precious Rook."

Akeno was smiling at Rias' kindness having finally returned. _"I knew that same Buchou was still in there somewhere. Thank you for bringing her back, Ryu-kun."_

Kiba, having listened to their conversation, smiled also as he continued to read. Those lost points of respect Rias lost, came back, and then some. _"What an interesting senpai I have and one of the best people I've met and befriended yet. I hope to get to know you better, Ryu-senpai."_

Shirone actually cracked a small smile at the conversation of the two. The smile, however, did not last when Rias said something that _ticked _her off.

"Plus, I want to get to know him _up close_ and _personal_~ He's someone completely different and I would like to get to know him in _detail_." The entire time she spoke, she had an arm under breasts and the hand was being used to support the elbow of her other arm, finger pressed against her chin. Her eyes half-lidded, cheeks tinted pink, and lightly smiling to herself. The more she kept speaking, the more she pressed her breasts together in anticipation.

Akeno, sharing similar yet more… Detailed thoughts as Rias, pressed her hands against her cheeks that caused her breasts to also press against each other. "Ara ara~ I seem to be feeling the same way as you, Buchou. Not many innocent, open-hearted, and mysterious men like him come by in our lives." Her cheeks became flushed red the more she kept fantasizing about Ryu.

Kiba just stuck to chuckling out his amusement and went back to reading while adding his theory about how his senpai caught the hearts of the two childhood friends, "Five days and senpai already has drawn them in. Rias was probably caught by his protective and powerful atmosphere around him, thinking it would be like those romantic mangas and anime shows she's read and watched. Akeno was caught by his open hearted nature, easy accepting mindset, and his forward attitude."

Shirone was gritting her teeth in anger until she heard what Kiba said and looked at him, "How do you know anything about Ryu already?" Kiba turned a page in the book, "The protective and powerful part? He sticks close to you and even tensed up in preparation for anything when he notices your distress on something and while I'm not the best in the group for power analysis, I was able to definitely tell he was at least more powerful than I was without him using whatever his Sacred Gear is. Akeno, on the other hand, wants to be with someone who she can be completely open with and because he does what he wants without fear. One last thing they like of him is because…" He chuckles at the next part, "is because he's not lecherous."

Shirone deadpans at her senpai, "Then why they do not go after you?" Kiba looked at his kouhai with a mortified expression and held up his hands in a motion that said, "Whoa there, back up." "W-w-wait a minute, Shirone! Remember that we all consider each other here as family and I'm not interested in having an affair with my master and her second-in-command. It will just be seriously awkward for me!" Shirone just crosses her arms under her chest with extra force that makes her breasts bounce and huffs in annoyance.

Her annoyed feeling was abruptly stopped when she felt something familiar. "_What is this feeling…?" _She gasps once she realized what it was, catching the attention of the others. "What's wrong, Shirone?" Rias inquired, her response wasn't something to have been expected, "One of my contractors are dead." Rias and Akeno immediately stop cooking and remove their aprons. "Shirone, can you get a fix on the location?" Shirone hesitantly nods, "I noticed now that the location is masked. It must be weakening then." Rias nods and turns to Akeno. "Prepare the jump and let Shirone control it." Akeno begins channeling magic energy and the circle of the Gremory Clan appears on the floor with her in the middle. Kiba puts the book back where it belongs and steps inside. Shirone finishes eating the cheesecake and goes in the portal's range as well and it begins transporting them.

Rias frowns at a thought that popped up and worries about that thought being true before they were completely teleported, _"I hope Ryu-kun isn't fighting whoever did this." _They arrived in front of the house in no time and once the magic circle vanishes...

_**CRASH!**_

A bloodied and beaten black-robed exorcist was flown through a wall and was right above them, making them all tense in surprise. What followed shortly after was another surprising factor and that was a slashed and shot Ryu jumping out from the hole in the wall, following where the exorcist flew with the objective of crushing and annihilating the black-robed man clear in his eyes.

* * *

_**Before that time, in the invaded house: Ryu and Freed**_

(Cue: Bloodlust Slaughter)

Ryu fixatedly gazed at Freed with a hardened look in his eyes as the opposing man charged at him. He combat rolled away to give himself some breathing room. _**[Partner, if possible, prevent any usage of my power or the swords and only use them if you think you need them.] **__"….?"__** [No doubt the Devils will search and arrive here from your lack of return. Just be cautious of his weapons. Those weapons use their own magic energy and he can strengthen it with his own magic.] **_With a mental nod of agreement, he charges at Freed. Freed himself retaliates with a slash of his light sword, Ryu performs the slightest of tilts to dodge the slash and counters with an elbow to the ribs, launching him away several feet.

Despite the clear strike and damage given, Freed chuckles, "Kukuku… You should try harder to dodge." Ryu spares a swift glance at his right arm to see it was still stricken even after dodging, blood trickling down the forearm along with a long cut where the other cut he got from "Yuuma" was, resulting in the cotton and tape to split apart and fall from his cheek. Realizing this was what Ddraig warned, he positions his fist upwards to be near his face.

Freed blinks. "Hah? It doesn't bother you? Man, you must be tough." With those words said, he charges once more with a flurry of strikes. Freed decides to make the bold approach of bull rushing and slashing at him with more force and speed. Ryu noticed this and with his current position of being near a wall, he could not go anywhere without leaving an opening and he did not want to use destructive methods for the sake of the environment, so he held up his arms to take the heavy sideways slash and his stomach took another slash in the process.

Once Ryu saw an opening from his opponent, he took it, quite literally. Grabbing his opponent's wrist that held the weapon, he prepares to launch a volley of strikes with his other fist…

_**BANG!**_

His left bicep was suddenly penetrated by a bullet made out of light from a gun Freed kept hidden around his hip. It pierced an inch or two through thanks to his natural endurance backed up by his magic energy to negate any offending magic enhancements that Freed has given to his weapons. Did that stop Ryu?

"What the fuck!? I overcharged my energy into the sword and gun so how are you not in fucking pain!?"

No.

_**BANG!**_

That similar sound of a bullet being shot was made except this was Ryu's face making contact with Freed's stomach whom coughed up blood. Instinctively, Freed kept firing his gun but was only able to shoot a couple of bullets before Ryu himself let go of the wrist the held the sword of light in order to launch a heavy barrages of punches to Freed's face and torso with both fists, ignoring or not even realizing he was shot multiple times in the stomach.

Freed makes an attempt to stop the assault by pointing his gun at the enemy's head and fires. Ryu ducks under the bullet and raises up with a powerful uppercut that launched Freed upwards, breaking through the roof as he kept flying up in the air before hitting the barrier, destroying it in the process, and breaks through the roof once more on the way down.

(Stop the song… For now)

Ryu walks towards the downed excomm-exorcist and prepared to stomp his head.

_**SHNK!**_

_**Squelch!**_

_**Drip… Drip…**_

Ryu looked further down to see his leg be penetrated by the light sword, courtesy of Freed and that very same exorcist swiftly points his gun at Ryu while he's distracted. Ryu noticed it via peripheral vision and back flipped out of the way and to midair, inadvertently removing the blade of light from his calf. Freed stood up as quickly as he could while Ryu landed on top of the kitchen counter in a crouching position and remains immobile once he saw the gun still pointed at him.

Freed glares at his opponent even if his vision was blurry and his movement unstable. He could already tell most ribs were broken from the onslaught of punches and the uppercut disoriented him heavily. It frustrated him more when he saw his opponent's condition having several cuts around his arms and stomach, bullet holes in his stomach and shoulder, and even a pierced leg yet he still did not look troubled or winded at all. "Y-you… Piece of shit…"

Ryu continues to gaze at the murderer's eyes with the unchanging ferocity his eyes had, sending shivers of fear and uncertainty all over Freed's body.

Those eyes… They held no killing intent. No energy added to them. They showed he has killed before and he is not bothered by it yet none of the intent is being released. The eyes just kept saying, "I will take down those who are my enemies in any way possible and I will kill if need be. Including you."

The scariest part was that the eyes held no killing intent or power behind them yet they still spoke of crushing every obstacle in his path. It pierced through Freed's insanity and made him internally afraid as a result.

**"AAAAAAHHHHH!"**

The shriek of horror forces the two to look at the one who screamed. Ryu looked horrified at seeing it was the kind Asia Argento and she was looking at the corpse that Freed stapled to a wall. "F-F-Father Freed, wh-what happened here…!?" Freed seemed to have immediately return to his insane self. "Weeellll… You see, Asia, that man was summoning a Devil and we both know that Devils are shitty and need to die! So any human trying to summon a Devil lose their humanity and should just die~!"

**[If that were true, then God would have killed every Devil and reincarnated Devil or turned them to something else that wasn't a Devil. He actually allowed them to become a race.]** "Ack! There goes that smart-mouthing hand of yours! Just shut up!" Freed turns his attention back to Ryu and Ddraig. Asia looks to where Freed was looking and gasps. "Mr. Ryu?" Ryu's corneas and pupils go back to their normal size when Asia looks at him and waves at her. Once more, she gasps upon seeing him injured. "You're hurt! Hang on, I'll heal you!"

_**BANG BANG BANG BANG!**_

Just when she was about to come close to Ryu, the very same man she was about to heal gets shot in the legs, arms, stomach, and even the head which makes him fall off the counter due to the unsuspecting attack.

Freed, with the little amount of strength left in him, rushes towards Asia and slams her against a wall with his sword pressed against her neck immediately after firing the shots. "So… You're going to betray me by healing the guy who supports Devils!?" He slashes his downwards across Asia and causes only her clothes to split in half from the attack. She didn't even get the chance to scream in fear when he decided to grope her right breast, his hand still held his sword of light and his other hand pressing the barrel of his gun against her left breast, "Maybe I should just end you right now for siding with the enemy? Yeah, that sounds stupendous! I think I'll do just that and maybe rape your fucking corpse!"

Ryu got up from the shock of the attack with only shallow wounds made from the shots made and the skull perfectly intact still. He looks around and as soon as his eyes saw what Freed did, his pupils and corneas shrunk even more than normal.

_**Slow Motion…**_

_Ryu charges in between the two and grabs the wrist that held the gun and moved it upwards, away from Asia while Freed fired, making the bullet miss its target. Freed moves to strike with his light sword, but Ryu pulls Asia away from himself and Freed and takes the attack instead._

_**Normal Speed…**_

**_Drip drip drip_**

Asia and Freed both looked at the still standing Ryu. "R-Ryu…?" Freed snarls, "HOW CAN YOU STILL BE ALIVE!?" His snarl stops when he sees those shrunken corneas and pupils that were back to their full force and were even fiercer with the added effect from the blood that ran down from his head to his chin. This time, they said…

"_**I'm going to kill you."**_

(Resume the song)

No longer going to go easy in thinking of using his enemy as a bag of information, Ryu crushes Freed's wrist with no problem. Freed begins to scream in pain but that scream of pain was short-lived when Ryu head-butts Freed in the head, cracking his forehead and skull open. Next step was Ryu roundhouse kicking Freed's stomach and launching him through the front wall of the house and outside to which he follows after with only leaving his bloody school jacket on Asia so she can cover her modesty. He launches himself towards Freed, breaking the floor in the process and grabs the exorcist by his head and as they land back on the ground, he smashes the insane exorcist's head against the concrete and destroying the concrete around them in the process. Giving the stray no break, he drags him across the street before throwing him into a vehicle that was crushed from the force and impact of the thrown Freed.

(End: Bloodlust Slaughter)

_**[I'd like to apologize for telling you to avoid using your weapons, partner.] **_Ryu mentally shakes his head. He had agreed that having his weapons could risk Rias knowing about his arsenal and while he was in his serious self, he figured the reality that the Gremory was still an unknown, regardless of no ill-will being shown between the two. If she knew he wielded Ascalon, Gram, and the Boosted Gear…

There could be the possibility that one of the Seven Sins, Greed, will be shown what it really is like in full force by Rias herself and he would be the victim of it.

Digressing on the subject, he stood up to his full height and stares down at the once more downed form of Freed. Just as he began to raise his foot to crush the exorcist's skull, a familiar voice interrupted him and returned him to his childish self.

"Ryu?"

With pupils and corneas back to their full size, he turns back to notice the entire Peerage of Rias' and the Gremory herself near the front of the pretty much trashed house, all with shocked looks. Ryu just makes a chuckling motion while rubbing the back of his head. The reunion was stopped when they heard a scream from back in the house.

Acting quickly on instinct, Ryu rushes towards the house with the others in tow to see through the hole that it was a Fallen Angel dressed in a gothic lolita outfit with blong hair on twin tails and blue eyes full of deceit and she grabbing Asia. "Sorry about that, Sekiryutei, but we'll be taking back our nun." She sticks her tongue out at Ryu before jumping in the portal that quickly vanished in time to dodge a compressed and short beam of brown colored magic that Ryu shot from his hand.

Ryu, back to his matured self, silently snarls and smashes his fist against a wall, smashing it to oblivion. His eyes widened at an idea and turns around to look where Freed was. His eyes and expression turned to infuriated when he saw that he was no longer there. His muscles began to bulge out from just retraining himself in lashing out. He tenses up even further when Shirone runs up to him and hugs him, crying while doing so.

"I'm… Glad you're okay… Ryu-kun…"

Ryu, snapping out of his rage and returning to his more innocent self, he gently hugs Shirone back. Eyes clearly showed and told he was apologetic, probably for making her worry. Shirone lets Ryu go to take a good look of the damage he has and gasps in pure shock and worry when she noticed the numerous amounts of injuries on him. Rias and Akeno both covered their mouths with one or two hands also while Kiba stood there, mortified. "Ryu-senpai, wh-what happened?"

Ryu inhales and exhales deeply from knowing this will take a while.

* * *

_**Mamoru Residence: Ryu, Rias, and her Peerage**_

After arriving at Ryu's home and Shirone along with Akeno applied alcohol and bandages to his wounds, they decided to finally begin eating their sushi and miso soup. Rias, after hearing what Ddraig speak of the events that occurred tonight, wanted to shorten the story to get the basic grasp on the situation.

"Allow me to summarize what you said." Once Ryu nodded, Rias began, "You were walking to the supermarket to get the rice until you sensed killing intent, smelled blood, and felt a spike in holy energy?" Ryu nods again. Akeno thought out loud, "I wonder why we didn't sense the holy energy…?" **[The barrier masked it. While it was incomplete at that moment, you would have to be at a certain range to sense it.] **"And when you entered, you saw the infamous excommunicated exorcist, Freed Sellzen, nailing Shirone's contractor to a wall?" Ryu nods at this albeit a bit more hesitantly this time. "Then in the middle of the fight, Asia Argento, the one who Akeno and I met this same day, seemed to be someone working with the Fallen Angels and Stray Exorcists?" Ddraig decided to correct Rias on that one, **[She screamed in horror from seeing a body stapled to the wall. The possibility of her unknowingly working with not good people is there and the chances of that are high. She was even going to heal partner instead of the exorcist.]**

Rias nods at the information. "At that point, everything else we witnessed it ourselves. It's still quite amazing you could operate normally with so many wounds, as shallow as they were." Ryu's now shrunken brown orbs stared into Rias' teal ones who shifts uncomfortably under his gaze. He stops eating completely to take out his notepad and shows it when he finished writing what he needed to write, "I have abandoned the very meaning of 'physical pain' after my incident. Ddraig told me you would definitely have looked into my documentations so I don't need to explain myself." Akeno looks disappointed and sad from his lack of feeling physical pain and from knowing what the reason was.

"Um... About the fight also... You seemed... Different." Ryu looks down at his food when the questioned was asked. **[Dual personalities. It's not hard to figure what could have caused it. Just be fortunate each one does not have a mind of their own.]**

"Well, if you would all excuse me. I need to take a shower." Everyone in the room nodded awkwardly at Ryu once they saw what he wrote on the notepad. Excusing himself from the table, he stands up and heads upstairs to the bathroom. Even Shirone didn't realize Ryu had two personalities.

With Ryu gone, Rias was now thinking about the events. More importantly, what that Fallen Angel said. _"Did-… Did she really say, 'Sekiryutei'? This entire time, he was the wielder of the Boosted Gear…? Maybe it was a good idea after all to not do anything drastic… I really don't want to upset someone who has one of the Thirteen Longinus and with his base power already Middle Cla- er, Rank 2. I don't think it would be someone easy to fight…" _As she was thinking this, she had a flashback to what the being in Ryu's hand said.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

_**[Partner has no supernatural or special lineage.]**_

_**[Partner is someone who achieved through hard and he had nothing to start with. He simply found a way to work around certain things and find a way to give himself power.]**_

_**Flashback End**_

* * *

Already did she realize two things: One, the being was known as Ddraig, the true Red Dragon Emperor that is sealed in the Boosted Gear. Two, he must have used the Boosted Gear in some way to give himself power. It was the only logical thought that came to mind. How else would it be possible? Even so, that is absolutely amazing! To think someone could simply create their own power from seemingly nothing!

Akeno looked at Rias and noticed her deep in thought expression. _"She must have figured it out as well…"_ Regardless if he was the Sekiryutei, Akeno would stay good friends with Ryu and maybe actually get to know him better. Little by little, she's already kept finding more and more things that drawn her to him. Moving aside the subject on the supernatural and possible relationships, she finishes her dishes and stands up to take them to the sink with Rias doing the same thing as well.

(Cue: Love Chase)

Shirone gracefully stands up from the table after finishing her food and heads upstairs. Almost immediately, Rias and Akeno both narrowed their eyes from figuring out what Shirone was doing and both also heading upstairs.

Kiba just watched this silent competition with his own two eyes and muffled a laugh. "Ah, my senpai sure draws in attention to himself without realizing it."

Shirone, Akeno, and Rias approach the bathroom door and all of them had towels with them. Shirone glares at the two. "What are you two doing here?" Akeno giggles a response, "Fufufu, to wash the sore back of our fellow classmate of course~" Rias nods to affirm the statement, "He will also need proper massaging techniques to be performed on his muscles so he can loosen them up and relax." And as she was about to turn the doorknob though our main hero opens it instead, wearing only a towel around his waist that covered him down to his knees.

They all gaze at the godliness that was Ryu's body. Moving past the wounds that were still there, he had an athletic and lean build with an extra buff and density in his muscles and his muscle tone was effectively defined to the point his abdomen, pectorals, biceps, and calves bulge slightly out in detail. All of this was thanks to the training and combat he's been in before. His moist body, wet hair, and face glistening from the remaining droplets just added to his appeal.

A blink was performed by both sides.

Then two more for good measure.

_**Gussshhhh!**_

The three Devils could not handle the show they were getting and nose bled to unconsciousness. Ryu stood there in confusion and panicked when he finally registered them being knocked out cold.

How could this have happened!?

What did he do wrong!?

What can he do right now!?

Wait! Breathing exercises!

Okay, that's better.

(End: Love Chase)

After calming down, he takes Rias and Akeno inside the first guest bedroom next to his room while he places Shirone on his room's bed. Taking one last longing look at Shirone, he leaves with his spare clothes.

After changing in the bathroom and re-applying bandages, Ryu heads downstairs with his usual nightwear where Kiba just finished washing his dishes and already went back to reading the book Ryu let him read. "…." Kiba's eyes shot up and looked around before his eyes settled on Ryu and smiled. "Oh, I thought I heard someone. So what happened upstairs? I heard some nasty thuds." It was Ryu's turn for his eyes to widen in shock.

"…?" Kiba mouth hung open. "Y-yeah-… Yeah, I just understood what you said! I didn't hear a voice but I knew what you sai-" "…..?" Kiba chuckles. "Yep. Like I was 'hearing' subtitles. Exactly that." As Ryu sat next to him, Kiba continued, "It's strange being able to understand you though." "….?" "What makes you say that?" "…." "Shirone? Really? Maybe you are right if that's the case. 'Only those with enough trust can hear me,' huh? Yeah, that sounds about right."

Kiba looks at Ryu, "So, do you think you can trust me with your past? I'll share my own with you in return." _"….?" __**[I believe he is trustworthy enough, partner. I'm sure he will understand.]**_ With the approval of his dragon companion, Ryu began his tale, from the incident of him just taking a stroll in the night during his 7th birthday, to the day he decided to attend Kuoh Academy. Including the fact that he helped Kuroka and Shirone. In the end of his story, Kiba was shocked from what happened in the beginning, how no one could see him from the forgetting spell malfunctioning since Ryu should have died that day, and the fact he had to take care of himself until he was 14.

Then that emotion changed to happiness and gratitude for him caring and taking in Kuroka and Shirone to the abandoned home he was living in ever since he was 9. The smile and respect began to increase the more he kept "talking" about his lifestyle and how the Toujou Sisters finally restoring his "invisible" problem and recreated his lost documentations. However, he gasped at how he was knocked out by Devils when they finally found the Toujou Twins. The expression switched to serious when he told how he met Ddraig and entered the orphanage.

Stopping him from his tale before he can talk about the swords, Kiba chuckles, "I think I should have a turn, senpai." Ryu smiled and nodded before motioning Kiba to speak. Kiba started telling from the start on how he was an orphanage ever since he was a child, to being moved as a candidate for the Holy Sword Project, and finally to his dying breath where Rias saw him and reincarnated him. Kiba told Ryu the sadness in how everyone else died in the project and wishes to take vengeance on the artifacts that made the project happen which were the holy swords themselves. He also spoke about how he took training lessons for a while from the Lucifer's Knight himself until he had to go to the Human World.

It was Ryu's turn to be shocked and pained from hearing Kiba speak about him being without parents from the get-go and how the Holy Sword Project turned out. He realized he should be thankful for having Kiba interrupt him before he told him about the blades, mostly about telling him of Ascalon. His trust for Rias has definitely risen and improved as well from hearing Kiba say how Rias took care of him and had a Knight of Lucifer personally train him, even if it was for just a bit. All in all, Ryu hugged Kiba, surprising the Knight of Gremory, but he returned the hug nonetheless.

After a bit, they stop hugging and Kiba rubbed away some stray tears. It felt good to be able to trust someone like Ryu, even if they knew each other just for a week. He felt that he was so similar to Ryu as both suffered through their own separate hardships and enjoyed their separate fortunes. Something you don't find often in a person, so he would like to take the chance to spend some friendly time with someone like that when he can. "Also, senpai. I'd like to let you know that your secret of assisting Kuroka and Shirone is safe with me. I know the Devils' ruling system and I personally question it so I will make sure to keep my lips sealed." Ryu nods in appreciation. "…." Kiba's smile becomes more sincere if possible, "Thank you, senpai. I'll take you up on that offer since the others are sleeping here." Ryu and Kiba chuckle silently. "…." Kiba looks at the door next to the staircase. "Ah, yes. So that's the ground floor guest room? Very well, I'll sleep there for the night. Again, thank you, senpai." Kiba and Ryu both stand up fist bump each other before heading to their separate rooms.

Ryu gently opens the door to his room and smiles at seeing Shirone still sleeping soundly. Closing the door behind him, he lays on the bed with the covers protecting him from the easily ignorable cold. Shirone reaches out and snuggles against him to which he silently laughs at. He missed the times Shirone, Kuroka, and himself would sleep together, cuddling against each other. Deciding it was enough travelling down memory lane, he gets comfortable in both his bed and Shirone's embrace. _**[Sleep well, partner.] **_And with that said, Ryu does so.

* * *

**Ending: Rolling Star by Yui**

**(Yume ni made mita you na sekai de arasoi no naku heiwa ni kurashitai) **Camera shows the streets and buildings of Kuoh City that had fast moving shadows of bestial and demonic looking creatures. Suddenly, a human shaped shadow carrying what seemed to be two swords, lunging at the other shadows and the camera panned to show it was actually Ryu jumping up high in the air and then slashed the screen with his swords.

**(****Mou gaman bakka shiterannai yo****iitai koto wa iwanakucha****) **The screen split into three from the slashes and now shows Ryu jumping across rooftops with Asia on his back and Kuroka and Shirone following behind him, all of them smiling in joy.

**(****Kaerimichi yuugure no basutei ****ochikonda senaka ni Bye Bye Bye!)** The scenery switches to show Rias and Sona playing a game of chess against each other in the ORC Clubroom and their Peerages doing other miscellaneous things or watching their Kings play.

**(****Kimi no Fighting Pose misenakya Oh! ****Oh!****)** The scene swapped again to show Ryu standing in the middle of the streets at nighttime, now in his serious personality. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he leapt towards the screen and punches it. This caused it to shatter to small shards of glass.

**(****Yume ni made mita you na sekai wa ****arasoi mo naku heiwa na nichi jyou!****) **Now it demonstrates Ryu blocking a punch from Dohnaseek and counters with a punch of his own to the face, knocking him away. Next, he ducks to avoid a kick from behind by Kalawarner and counters with an uppercut that sent her flying. Lastly, he launches a beam of bronze colored energy at Mittlet that destroyed the incoming light spears in the process.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa hibi to rabu te ****tama ni kuyandari shiteru) **Swiftly turning around, Ryu charges towards Raynare, his gauntlet at the ready and jumps in the air to reach her with an open hand and she responds to throwing a light spear at him.

**(Sonna ROLLING DAYS!) **The entire screen went white right after.

**(Short Instrumental) **_A short series of flashbacks of all the times he fought against his foes that included Stray Devils, Freed, and the Fallen Angels play in his mind._

**(****Kitto uso nante sou imi wo motanai no) **Ryu falls to the floor, the bangs of his hair covers his eyes, and blood littered his torn up clothes and body.

**(All my loving… ****Sou janakya yatterannai!) **Two hands are offered in front of him and looks up to see Rias, Kiba, Akeno, and Asia and the hands belonging to Kuroka and Shirone.

**(Yume ni made mita you na Sweet Love ****koibitotachi wa kakurega wo sagasu no) **Ryu gladly took the assistance and stood back up on his feet.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa aenai hi ga****tsuzukinagara mo shinjiteru no Lonely days****) **Slowly raising his hand up, Ryu summons his Boosted Gear once more. The gem shines brightly and gives the white background made by the shining moon a more vibrant and beautiful color.

**(Tsumazuitatte Way to go! ****Yeah! Yeah!) **The group behind Ryu smiles at seeing him stand up and as he raised his armored hand up in the air.

**(Dorodarake ROLLING STAR!) **The screen soon becomes engulfed in a sea of green light by the gauntlet.

**End ending song**

* * *

**Phew! These chapters are fun to do! Can't wait to finish up this first volume and start making my own paths for my story. Anyways, I do hope all of you enjoyed and with that all said and done, I bid you all adieu. I understand if some people might question me in having Kiba trust Ryu so easily with his past and the other way around. You have to understand that Kiba wouldn't think of it being fair to have spied on information who was actually not even close to being a threat to them and in reality just a fun-loving person. Another reason is the fact that someone will always get along great with others who share similar events in their lives, it's a natural psychological thing and Ryu's aura in terms of socializing is one of always welcoming people with open arms. And the part of Rias and Akeno being attached to Ryu? He _is_ different from other men in the series and Devils and Fallen Angels are naturally attracted to "innocence." Plus, anyone would like to have someone who does not give a care of your body and would accept who you are no matter what and can defend you in your times of need.**


	7. Awkwardness and Awesomeness

**Here is the next chapter for you readers. One might be thinking on how I can make 5k chapters (and that excludes the word count from AN's) in just a day or in a few days, right? Eh, I just work fast and this volume is aaalllllll planned out. And to those who enjoy the ecchiness of HS DXD, relax. It'll be there. I just focus more on combat and STORY plot than the OTHER plot.**

**Re-re-re-re- DROP THE BASS! Review time!**

**Aidosx: Here you go, a fast chapter!**

**Guest: Er… For the sake of story plot, I cannot answer that. Please do not take this with ill-will, I just don't want to reveal what powers Ryu will have and how his powers will evolve. His abilities play big parts in the story everywhere he goes, more than just for combat reasons.**

**Blazedragon94: We'll see…**

**I don't own Highschool DxD.**

"I refuse to give up!" – Speech  
_"I can't keep up…" – Thoughts/Flashbacks speech  
_**[Hang in there!]/[Boost!] – Ddraig speech  
**_**[Through the thick and thin, partner.] – Ddraig thoughts/Flashback speech  
**_

* * *

**Opening: Sympathy by Larval Stage Planning**

**(Tomo ni mou ichido tachiagare ****mamore hitotsu no inochi…) **The camera shows Ryu landing on the ground and narrowing his eyes at the Peerage of Riser as they prepare themselves for combat. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he charges at them and the green gem begins to glow.

**(****Tayasanu yo niiii!) **The glow stopped and the upcoming clash is replaced with the picture of the Boosted Gear itself across the screen horizontally and the title appears in the middle.

**_"古伝の竜守る Vol 0: 不羈 (Legend of the Dragon Protector, Vol 0: Freedom)"_**

Then the gauntlet and title turn to shiny green particles.

**(****Futatabi otozureta yoake ni me ga samete kimi wo omoi dasu yume no tochuu) **The particles vanished to show the ORC Club and scrolls from left to right to show Rias to Kiba, Akeno, Asia, and finally to Shirone and Kuroka. All of them smiling towards the camera.

**(Me no mae no zanzo susumanai ashidori ****toozakatte yuku hiriki na boku) **Once more, the scenery switched to the Student Council Room and scrolled from right to left this time to show Sona, Tsubaki, Saji, Momo, Reya, Tsubasa, Rukuro, and Tomoe, all smiling at the camera as well.

**(Taisetsu na mono wa doko ni aru? ****Ashita wo shinjiru nara wasurenaide!) **The screen returned back to Ryu charging towards Riser's Peerage and the camera panned to the females and zooms past them and closes in on Riser's smirking face.

**(Ima koso saa inochi wo kakete susumi dasu toki****omoi ga tsuyoi hodo tsuyokunaru!)** Ryu dodges, parries, and counters the attacks of the servants in the Phenex's Peerage and heads straight for Riser after dealing with the females.

**(Hengen suru tsugihagi darake no risou dewa****sugu ni kiete shimau kara!) **Riser flies up in the air with his fire wings and Ryu follows suit with his energy being released through the sole of his feet and shoes and clash high in the sky with fist against fist, kicks against kick, and yellowish colored fires against copper colored lasers.

**(Towa e tsuzuku kawasu chikai****furue dashita karada no soko kara!) **Ryu slowly held up his Sacred Gear and the jewel shines once more with a light so intense that made Riser cover his eyes from its intensity. Red flames spread around Ryu's entire body and an armored silhouette slowly makes it appearance within the flames with emerald green eyes piercing through the red fire.

**End opening song**

* * *

_**Morning, Mamoru Residence: Ryu**_

_**[Partner… Wake up. It's Tuesday. You have school.]**_

Ryu stirs a bit before opening his eyes. He stretches whilst silently yawning and that's when he realized something…

He couldn't stretch to begin with.

He looks around and his eyebrows were raised from the unexpected revelation as to why he couldn't move.

(Cue: Awkward Moment)

Here was Rias, on his right side, in her birthday suit, and sleeping. Naturally, he begins to blush from her lack of apparel.

Why is she naked and why did she come here to sleep!?

Akeno was sleeping on his left side and at least she was a bit more… Modest? She was wearing purple and black colored underwear and bra to cover her important areas. Still, Ryu blushes more from this also.

Both were using his biceps as a pillow which answered his question on why his arms were unusable. But that only answered why he couldn't move his torso so he looked down.

His blush lessened and he smiles when he saw Shirone on top of him with her Neko-like traits out in the open, peacefully resting on top of him. She was wearing white colored pajamas with cat faces on them. He figured they woke up at some point and changed their choice of clothing.

Or remove it altogether in Rias' case.

But why did Rias and Akeno come to Ryu's room to sleep?

This brought back memories from his past when Kuroka and Shirone were together with him.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

_Young, 14 year old Ryu was resting in one of the bedrooms of the house. Even if it was abandoned for five years, this place was still a good home to live in and easy to clean in his opinion._

_**Creeeaaak…**_

_Ryu's eyes shot open when he felt fumbling around in his bed and soon felt two sources of warmth afterwards, one on each of his side._

"_Nnyyaaa~ Shiro-chan, this is so gooood~ Why didn't we do this sooner, nya?" That was definitely Kuroka on his left side._

"_Mm, comfy~" Was the only response from Kuroka's younger sister who was laying on his right side._

_Ryu looks at the two with questioning looks. Kuroka waves off the gaze, "Lovers do this sort of thing all the time, nya." Shirone jumps to sitting position and comically glares at her older sister, eyes tuned to pure white circles with black, scribbled edges around them. "N-nee-san! Y-you shouldn't say things l-like that!" Shirone flails her arms around in a panicked fashoin. Kuroka just cheekily smiles and caresses the confused, brown haired boy's hair. "I'm sure he doesn't know what that means." Ryu shakes his head in response to assert Kuroka's statement and said black cat Youkai's eyelids lower and having a lovingly adoring look to them. "It's when two people love each other very much. A different way than families love each other. In this case, my sister and I to you, Ryu-kun, nya~"_

_Ryu blinked and tilts his head in wonder on how one would know when they love each other in the way Kuroka described. Shirone just gets more fidgety in nervousness and embarrassment if her shaking body with a freaked out expression that was completely red faced were any indication. Kuroka, seeing his confusion, answer his unasked question, "When you feel elated in seeing the person you love and get that excited feeling in your stomach. Your heartbeat increases also and you cannot take them out your mind. Do you have that for us, Ryu-kun?"_

_Ryu checks his pulse and it was indeed faster than normal. He had that "butterfly" feeling in his stomach and he indeed kept thinking about the days he spent or will spend with the two. Looking between the calm Kuroka and frantic Shirone, he nods with a smile._

_**Flashback End**_

* * *

(End: Awkward Moment)

Ryu is now even more confused of the current situation after remembering. Sure, he is glad that he got Rias and Akeno as friends… But…

He doesn't feel those things.

It can be that he barely knows them after all. Plus, they got off from the wrong foot. Could the two be feeling that way towards him though? And why did he smell some type of sweet scented fragrance from the two? It's the same one he always smelt from Kuroka and Shirone. Now it's four women who have this same scent and frankly, he didn't know why it was there.

Either way, he needed to get ready and so did they. After moving around a bit, the others began to stir awake with Rias sitting up on the bed and stretches while yawning, causing her breasts to bounce slightly. "Ohayou, Ryu-kun." Akeno uses an elbow to keep her upper body up and the other hand used to rub the sleep out of her eyes, "Mm… Morning already? I guess Ryu-kun is that amazing as a pillow. Those muscles are so soft tough yet soft~" The black-haired Queen turns to see Ryu as well, both see his cheeks definitely blushing, but his eyes and mouth showed no sign of emotion.

In reality, the two halves of his psyche were in conflict on which takes over and this happens quite often, even during combat upon seeing Stray Devils that were very revealing or when they were far weaker than he was and couldn't take them as serious. He still defeated either of these things nonetheless, not bothered by the two types, it's just that he didn't know how to react at it. At this moment, he just _really_ doesn't how to react in this situation since they are still strangers who redeemed themselves to him after being invasive and rude to his personal life yet here they are, naked or half naked in front of him after two days of knowing each other.

Meanwhile, Rias and Akeno blink at his blushing yet Shirone-level of stoic-ness in his expression. "Ryu-kun?" Ryu calmly looks at Akeno. "….?" **[Partner is asking why you two are sleeping in his room, with your bodies exposed.] **Rias goes in frantic mode and waves her hands in front of her, "We didn't do anything bad to him while he was sleeping!" **[I know you didn't. Otherwise, I would be spending my time finding ways to get out of this Sacred Gear without killing my one partner that has shown care to me and if I do find a way, I would personally go to the Underworld and finish off the little remains of your race.]**

That shut them up. Rias wouldn't be as afraid of that statement if she didn't know it was the Red Dragon Emperor himself while Ryu was slapping his left hand and pointing at it in a way of saying, "Bad!"

Ddraig mutters an apology before pressing on the subject,** [Now, why do I sense foreign energy that attempted to go in my partner?] **"That's exactly why we're here. We wanted to help Ryu-kun getting better so we transferred our energy to him while we were sleeping." **[And let me guess: The less clothing, the more effective.] **Akeno and Rias both shifted uncomfortably under the threatening tone of the dragon. Rias decided to speak up, "If it's any consolation, I can only sleep when I have no clothes." She smiles at Ryu. Ddraig just deadpans, even if it wasn't visible to all but Ryu. **[That doesn't help, Gremory. Not at all. Not even a little.] **Rias hangs her head upon hearing that.

Akeno looks up while with a finger to her chin in wonder. "It's still weird. The entire time, I could feel my energy turned to pure demonic and holy energy as soon as it entered his body and magic system." Rias adopted a serious expression. "You're right. In my case, though, it was just demonic energy since that's the type I have in my system so it turned it to pure demonic energy like it did with yours."

Ddraig had an inkling feeling and idea as to how it was possible. He just chose to not say anything since it could be false. Their trains of thought were interrupted when they hear a yawning form of a "meow" and then purring from Ryu petting Shirone. "…." "Mm… Morning…" Shirone sits up on Ryu's hips and rubs her eyes adorably. Once she opens her eyes, she sees the duo that was Rias and Akeno.

"…. What are you two doing here?" Shirone's eyes narrow as she asked this, obvious to the others she was now uncomfortable. Akeno goes back to her usual self upon seeing the aggravated look on Shirone's face that replaced her usual neutral face. "Ara, we were having some skinship with our fellow classmate. Right, Rias?" Akeno and Shirone look at Rias whom nods with a smile. "What's best to get to know someone than spending time with them overnight?" **[They were also healing him apparently.] **Shirone finally relaxed some upon realizing their intentions weren't _entirely _messed up. Ryu, though, opts with gently removing the Neko Youkai from his lap and gets up from his bed in order to get his clothes to change in the bathroom.

"Ara ara, why doesn't Ryu-kun join us in changing?" Ryu stops and blinks before looking at Akeno, neutral yet blushing expression still present. Shirone, knowing of Akeno's plan on using Ryu's naivety to the thunder user's advantage and perhaps the Gremory Heiress' as well, rushes towards him. "There's no need for that, Ryu. They're fine being on their own." That said, her and Ryu get out of the room. After the door closed, Rias and Akeno frown in disappointment, "Oohhhh… If only Shirone wasn't here to interrupt us…" Akeno just smiles at Rias' childish whines. "Other opportunities will arise, Buchou."

In the meantime, Ryu walks in the bathroom and chooses to sigh when he noticed the wounds were indeed healed, but his bandages were covered in dry blood and in turn, making him covered in dry blood. So naturally, he needed to take a shower. Now, with just a towel on him, he prepares for said shower which he will relax in for a bit. At least there was still plenty of time left as long as he didn't mess around like usual.

_**Click!**_

Ryu hears the sound of a click.

The sound of a door being locked.

He turns around and sees Shirone in front of the door, her snow colored hair covering her eyes completely.

Ryu's eyes widen when she approaches him with her hands on his shoulders and her rather large and impressive chest presses itself against his own muscular chest. "C-can I wash your back…?" Ryu just slowly nods after giving it thought. The white Nekomata takes a few steps back and begins to undress, shocking Ryu to new levels of… Well… Shock.

_**(Fair Warning: Lime Scene. Proceed to the next bold and italics text you see to skip.)**_

His face begins to flush red, steam begins to come out from his overheated head and ears, and his jaw was hanging with his still shrunken pupils registering all that was happening before him. Once the underwear finally falls to the clean floor, his brain just either shut down or went into overdrive.

Creamy white skin that was even shining from the light's reflection due to how perfect her skin is.

Her figure looked similar to an hourglass with a refined look to her body from training.

Breasts the size so close to rivaling Rias' in size that just looked incredibly… _Soft_.

A plump yet firm butt that went well with her long, slender, and smooth legs that also glistened like the rest of her ski-

That's enough!

Ryu swiftly turns around to show respect to her and turns on the shower quickly then proceeds to sit on the stool with his back towards her. Shirone nervously approaches Ryu with her a sponge in hand and starts scrubbing his back. Ryu visibly loosens up at the nice sensation of this and closes his eyes in relaxation. Shirone sees this and prepares to do what Kuroka told her to do in situations like these: Wrapping her arms from behind and pressing her naked body against his bare back and begins cleaning his back with her own largely proportional breasts.

Ryu went back to overdrive and overheat mode. He was not used to this. Even Kuroka didn't do things at this level! It got even "newer" for him when he heard sounds he never thought would be used in scenarios like this.

"Mm… Hah… Hah… Nyu…"

Eyes got wide once more when he heard these noises in the way she was saying his. He could feel her heartbeat increasing and the feeling of her incredibly soft and squishy breasts with her small and hard nipples rubbing against his back. The moans just kept increasing with the more she kept rubbing her orbs of softness to "wash" his back. Shivers of unknown yet welcomed properties went up and down Ryu's body. This shivers kept telling him to want more, crave more, and perhaps go even further than this.

"!?"

He began to feel Shirone's hands even begin to wash his pectorals and abdomen. Shirone only became more aroused upon feeling the firm feeling of Ryu's developed muscles. She was at least thankful there was water on the floor.

"Nn… D-does it feel good, R-Ryu…? Mm.. Hah, hah… Do you want me to continue with the rest of your body?"

Ryu was about to answer until the human and Yokai heard the door somehow be unlocked and opened up.

_**(Lime Scene Over)**_

The two childhood friends turn and see the other two childhood friends that were at the door. Rias looked _very_ upset with her arms being crossed over her still naked breasts and Akeno looked like she wanted to join in judging by the blushing cheeks and licking of her lips upon seeing Ryu's physique.

* * *

_**Kuoh Streets: Ryu, Rias, Akeno, and Shirone**_

As to prevent the awkward atmosphere after the "waking up call" and "shower," we are here where Ryu and the other ladies are walking to school. Kiba decided to leave a note on the table to say he needed to go back to his house to get a cleaner uniform and left to school after. The "Two Great Ladies" and "School Mascot" just went with using magic for their uniforms. Nifty and smart thing there.

Anyways, we have Rias clinging to his right and Akeno clinging to his left. He naturally asked (wrote) why and their reply was just: "I feel a lot more comfortable like this" or "I want to be closer to my classmate."

Shirone, though… She was blushing _madly_ with spinning swirls replacing her eyes and steam coming out of head.

"Why?" You may ask?

Because she's sitting on top of Ryu's shoulders.

Yep, Ryu being the generous one he is, saw Shirone's distress and placed her on his shoulders so she didn't feel left out. Even with the innocent and naïve generosity, this was definitely not high school behavior. He didn't mind or care though, but... He just couldn't shake off this feeling of the nape of neck being… Humid?

He already dried himself, so why did he feel this?

And as soon as they were near the gates, the students made their questions and discomfort known. Quite abruptly too.

"What the-!? That damn bishounen has both Rias and Akeno now!?"

"How is this remotely possible!?"

"He has the 'Two Great Ladies' clinging to him and the 'School Mascot' on his freakin' shoulders!"

"No no no no no! No! Just… NO!"

"Ryu-senpai has Rias-senpai and Akeno-senpai too!?"

"Sniff… My dream to be his wife… Gone… Even from my fantasies…"

"Do you think I could be part of his group?"

Ryu's brown corneas shrink upon hearing enough.

Mental and nonexistent sound of a glass breaking and a record being stopped happened behind the Fourth Wall and in Ryu's mind.

Whoa whoa whoa whoa there!

**Whoa!**

Why are they reacting so badly!?

What did he do wrong with just hanging around with the three!?

He's hung out with fellow female and even male schoolmates to diners and karaoke when they asked or he offered and they still reacted this way!?

Why!?

Ryu just stops mentally questioning the situation and puts Shirone down carefully once they reach past the school gates. Rias smiles at Ryu, "After school, could you follow Akeno and I to the Occult Research Club?" Ryu nods frantically which causes Akeno to giggle and Rias' smile to grow. "Well then, if you'll excuse us..." Akeno and Rias both bow towards Ryu and the two founders of the ORC Club head out to the Old School Building.

Now it was Shirone's turn to cling to him. "Come on… We should head to our classrooms…" Ryu nods again and the two soon begin to walk to the school building.

* * *

_**After School, ORC Building: Ryu and Rias' Peerage**_

Once more to skip the uneventful school day, we are here with Ryu and the Peerage of Rias. Rias herself was not here just yet since she needed to discuss things with Sona concerning matters. Kiba looks at Ryu and notices Shirone sleeping on his lap with him simply petting her head. "So, senpai. How was this morning?" Ryu's face began to pale when that question was asked. "…." Kiba's eyebrow was raised from the response. "What do you mean by 'awkward'?" "..." "…. I'll trust your judgement on that if it's as bad as you said. I honestly think it could be that bad."

Akeno walks back from the kitchen and sets down the cups of tea with the still present smile on her face. "Enjoy, you two." She then proceeds to sit next to Ryu. "Ryu-kun, there is no ill-will left after this morning, right?" Ryu's eyes stare into Akeno's apologetic ones. Smiling, his response was petting her head to which she closes her eyes from the relaxing contact, "I could get used to this~" A shiver of fright went up Kiba's spine when he heard Akeno say this. The blonde knew why his female senpai enjoyed it.

_**Creeeaaak… Click.**_

The sound of a door opening then closing that were both caused by Rias. "Sigh…" With that same weary sigh made, she walks to her desk and plops on the revolving chair. "I just finished speaking to Sona." "What was it about, Buchou?" Akeno could give a close guess in what was she speaking about. Rias' line of sight fixates on Ryu, "It's actually on Ryu." The man in question blinks in curiosity. "I just wanted to tell Sona about Ryu's status and blow away any suspicion of him being a possible enemy. Thinking about it now, he could be the one that was reducing the numbers of Stray Devils ever since 2013 like in those reports." Ryu nods in agreement to the statement and takes out his notepad, "During training, they sense my energy and attack me or I hunt them for attacking other people."

Kiba smiled at his senpai's deeds. "You must have had a bit of a rough time, huh?" Ryu slowly nods and holds out his notepad again, "Since I was a normal human, I didn't have anyone for physical backup, so it was just me and my friend in my Sacred Gear." Friend? Rias' interest was now peaked. The spirit in the Gear and the wielder becoming close friends? It would be the second time she heard and seen of this. Ryu turns to Rias when she stated her question and nods, "He was there when I was alone and offered me the strength to fight back and with that power, I decided to also protect others." He then wrote something that made Rias internally flinch.

"I follow a saying that says, 'Use your powers to fight for those who can't fight for themselves or help those in need.' Ever since I found out I could do things no one else could, I've began to fight Strays whether they were challenging or not or whether I was in a life and death situation or others were."

Akeno chuckles at realizing the more Rias hung out with Ryu, the more her King came to be feeling bad on the inside for using the Fallen Angels to recruit him. The two also found more reason to be more interested in the Longinus wielder as well. It was all a win-win in Akeno's book.

Kiba, on the other hand, looked excited to know more about someone who's had the feeling of just wanting to survive or prepare themselves for death in a fight they could lose. He could learn a thing or two of such a person. "You must have been in many near-death situations to get used to the feeling of the 'Rush of Battle,' huh?" Ryu shakes his head and takes out his notepad, "I was feeling that kind of rush before when I was 13 and I began self-taught freerunning."

They all blink.

13 years old and this boy already wanted to learn to perform backflips, frontflips, climb obstacles at an insane speed by human standards, and run across buildings?

"Um… But aren't the two different, senpai?" Ryu just responds with a, "Not for me," from his notepad.

_**Ano hi mita sora akaneiro no sora wo~**_

_**Nee kimi wa oboeteimasuka~?**_

_**Yakusoku chigiri shoka no kaze ga tsutsumu~**_

Everyone, including Shirone, looked at Rias while the stared down red-hair blushes in embarrassment and quickly takes out her cell phone to answer the call, ending the ringtone. "Hello? Yes, nee-san, it's me. Where? Very well, my Peerage and I will handle it accordingly. It should be easier with us having an ally. Yes. A Sacred Gear user." Rias looked uncomfortable after she said that, probably from the question that was asked after she said that. "I'm not sure of the Sacred Gear, but he is an ally. He's been taking care of the Stray Devils for the last two years. Yes, he's that one in the reports. Alright, we're on our way."

They stare at Rias as she pockets the phone. Everyone excluding Ryu knew what it was about. "We're going to hunt a Stray Devil named Viser. Wanted for murdering her master and killing fellow Devils and humans. Are you all prepared?" She stands up once the collective nods of her Peerage were given. "Ryu, do you think you can joi-" Her breath hitched upon seeing his shrunk corneas and pupils. They spoke of untold punishment and ultimate judgement upon those who wronged. Ryu still nods to her unfinished question. "…" Shirone decided to speak for him this time, "He's asking the location of the Stray Devil." Rias shakes off the feeling she got from those terrifying eyes, "The old warehouse in the middle of the woods at Kouh Park."

_**Fwoosh!**_

Everyone was wide-eyed at the speed he left.

"That was at my speed…" Kiba stated with shock. He knew his senpai was powerful, but it was still surprising. Rias shakes her head to escape of another shock. "More and more, we're finding things about Ryu." Rias smiles at this revelation, then her expression turns to wonder, "How did you know what he said, Shirone?" "I have an idea since I can understand him too." Everyone looked at Kiba with wide eyes. "How?" "It involves with trust." Shirone starts putting the pieces together. She would say it wasn't true if he was able to speak to her during their three-fourths of a year together if he didn't use his notepad instead of attempt to speak during that timeframe herself, him, and his sister were still together.

Rias and Akeno both look down in sadness at realizing what that meant for them. They weren't even going to ask Kiba how he gained his trust, it wasn't a right thing to do. Said blonde sensed the distress and decided to cheer them up by asking them a very important question:

"Did you at least notice him open his mouth to attempt at speaking?"

Rias and Akeno both looked at the Knight questioningly and slowly nodding at the same time. "That means you're getting there. When he tries to 'speak,' so to say, it varies on the trust between him and that person. It always starts out with not even seeing him move his mouth to seeing him actually move his mouth, yet it's so incoherent like he's speaking many languages at once and when you reach enough trust, you can finally begin to read his lips until the final step of being able to 'hear' him."

The two were smiling at the fact that they were getting there. It was better than being nowhere and they were making progress. "Well, we should use the teleportation circle, Akeno, if you would." "Hai, hai (Yes, yes), Buchou." Akeno stands up and prepares to teleported everyone. Kiba, Shirone, and Rias step inside the magic circle.

* * *

_**Kuoh Woods, Abandoned Warhouse...**_

Rias and her Peerage arrived in front of the warehouse with Ryu already waiting near the entrance, staring at the double doors with such fervor. "Are you ready, Ryu?" Ryu nods at Rias and opens the door cautiously, taking a few steps inside, he looks around for any immediate threats. "…." Kiba catches what he says and translates it to the two, "He says we have to go deeper." With collective nods, the group follow behind Ryu, ignoring the scent of putrid blood and rotting corpse.

"Kukukuku…."

Everyone immediately stops when they hear maniacal laughter and a wave of killing intent washed over them.

"I smell delicious meat, especially from the male up front. Men with scents like his were always my favorite~"

A woman with greenish-black hair reveals herself to the group. Obviously, she was nude from at least the top half since the rest was blocked from a pillar. That didn't perturb the group in the slightest though. Rias walks past Ryu with arms crossed and staring straight into the eyes of the murderer. "Stray Devil, Viser! In the name of the household of Gremory's, you are to be brought down for killing your master, Devils, and other humans! Do you deny these charges!?" Viser snarls intensely at the red-hair, "You fucking Gremory's are all big shit just because your member is the Lucifer, huh!? I'll show you!"

_**Thud thud thud…**_

And so, the lower half of Viser was finally revealed and showed it to be part of a centaur's lower body with bonelike armor and a snake tail. And it was a gigantic lower half too.

Ryu and the others were still unflinching at the sight. They needed to focus after all.

"Ryu-kun, please stand back so I can properly show you of my Pieces." Ryu nods at Rias' request and mentally switches to defensive mode.

"Yuuto is my Knight. He specializes in speed and weapon strength. Yuuto!" "Hai (Right/Yes)!" Kiba dashes off to a speed that equaled Ryu's and slashes across Viser's chest, slashing one of her arms off in the process. Ignoring the scream of pain, Rias continued, "Shirone is my Rook." Just as Shirone was approaching to combat the foe, she gets swallowed up by the lower body's stomach. "Her traits as my Rook focuses on defense and body strength." Ryu observed Shirone expectantly break off the bony mouth and punch the Stray Devil up to the ceiling, crashing against it, before finally falling back on the floor.

Ryu spots that same arm that was cut off racing towards Rias and wonders why she has not noticed. Brushing off the confusion, he points his finger at the arm and fires a concentrated blast of magic, obliterating the arm in a matter of seconds. The red-haired damsel smiles at Ryu in gratitude, "Thank you, Ryu-kun." Akeno, on the other hand, gets this smile that just seemed _too sweet_. "Ara ara, you tried to hurt Buchou. I wonder what I should do with you~?" "And Akeno is my Queen. She has all the abilities of a Rook, Knight, and a Bishop combined. A Bishop, which I didn't tell you, focuses purely on magic."

_**ZZZZZZZZTTTT!**_

_**CRASH!**_

A thunderous strike falls upon the downed form of Viser whom screams continuously in pain and agony while Akeno licks her fingertips erotically and blushing the entire with her eyes glazed in glee. "Ah, yes~ I'd like to hear you scream more~ Please don't stop~" Rias sighs but smiles nonetheless. "She's also the ultimate sadist."

Ryu notices there was movement in the corner of his eyes that was heading towards Akeno. Entrusting his instincts, he rushes past Rias, Kiba, and Shirone to Akeno and grabs her by the waist, unintentionally interrupting the priestess' thunder spell, and leaps away to avoid to others that crashed right where she was standing.

"Dammit!"

"We were so close!"

Ryu lands back on his feet and places Akeno down. "Ara, Ryu-kun, what a gentleman~" The brown-haired man smiles at Akeno which he soon stops doing once he focused back on the main issue. Looking in front of him, he sees two more Stray Devils. One with a spider lower body and the other a minotaur. "…." **[Agreed, partner. Gremory, you shall bear witness the secret I have been making Ryu keep. You would be wise to maintain it as such. Same to your Queen.] **Rias and Akeno nods in agreement to this. They wanted to see for themselves if what the Fallen Angel said was true.

(Cue: Chosen One)

With those nods made, he walks forward. **[Are you prepared, partner?] **A slight tilt of his head was made. He sees Viser weakly stand up with the aid of her comrades. It didn't matter though. Their defeat was inevitable even with the three against him. Holding up his left arm to the side, the booming voice that would permanently engrave itself in the mind of everyone here was finally spoken.

**[BOOST!]**

The gauntlet. The famous and equally infamous red gauntlet. The gauntlet with the potential to face superior beings like Gods or other beings with equal power like Seraphs, Maous, or Cadres and let the wielder walk out of the fight to live in telling the tale. The gauntlet that held the mighty Red Dragon Emperor, Ddraig. Everyone stood from the overwhelming aura it yielded. Even Rias and her group who still found out about it beforehand, still were rooted to where they stood. Never did they get the chance to feel its power and potential in serious combat.

The Stray Devils get out of their shock and Viser starts the attack by firing green colored acid from her breasts with the spider-type shooting out webbing that mixed with the acid, making it stronger.

_**Splash!**_

The webbing saturated with acid comes in contact with its intended target, who did not even bother dodging, and said target stops. The centaur Stray Devil charges towards the male offender and just about when it was going to make contact…

_**FWOOOOM!**_

Ryu releases a burst of magic energy that eliminated the webbing and blew the centaur back to its comrades, causing them to hit the wall behind them that crumbled from the pressure. Speaking of Ryu, he runs towards the enemies and jumps high in the air. Magically enhancing his leg, he spins forwards towards the spider as he falls and delivers a devastating downwards axe kick down on mentioned spider, blowing its upper body clean off with no visible traces left.

_**CRASH!**_

And a nasty crater where he is standing.

The centaur charges with a furious roar for its fallen comrade. It was all for naught though when Ryu stops it in place with one hand. Concentration to its fullest, he begins to launch a furious assault with his fists that were also enhanced with magic. The punching combos that seemed to not stop only go faster the more speed he used until it went as fast as Kiba's slashing speed and when he was about to perform the last punch…

**[EXPLOSION!]**

_**BOOM!**_

As soon as his final punch that was with his gauntlet'd hand came in contact, a head-sized hole was created in the centaur's stomach that went right through and also blew a large hole behind the now lifeless centaur. Ryu's body was glowing red the entire time once "Explosion" was said.

_**THUD…**_

**[Reset.]**

With two out of three taken care of, he faces the now recovered Viser. The Stray was already weakened so dealing one good blow would be more than enough. Now with an idea, Ryu jumps away from Viser and fuels his entire being heavily with magic, causing him to glow green instead of brown, a side effect of having the Boosted Gear out.

He charges right at her.

**[BOOST!]**

**[EXPLOSION!]**

_**ZOOM!**_

He punches his way right through Viser's large body, a hole the size of his width through her stomach.

**[Reset.]**

_**THUD!**_

As soon as "Reset" was stated, Ryu's body stopped glowing and Viser's body fell lifelessly to the ground.

(End: Chosen One)

Ryu walks back to the group. "….?" **[It's done. Partner also is asking if we could head back.] **Rias dumbly nods. With this he begins to walk back. "I-I think I'm going to go join him just so he's not alone." Shirone leaves after saying that to join Ryu. "I'll go with you, Shirone!" Kiba rushes to his kouhai and senpai. Now with the two alone, they begin to find their words. "I-incredible… He used his magic to enhance his clothes so they won't be destroyed." Akeno finishes what Rias observed, "And he also used his magic to neutralize the acid's magical properties and also used it as an outward force and extension of himself…" Rias and Akeno think on how someone of "Rank 2" was able to fight in a way that could rival a "Rank 3."

* * *

**Ending: Rolling Star by Yui**

**(Yume ni made mita you na sekai de arasoi no naku heiwa ni kurashitai) **Camera shows the streets and buildings of Kuoh City that had fast moving shadows of bestial and demonic looking creatures. Suddenly, a human shaped shadow carrying what seemed to be two swords, lunging at the other shadows and the camera panned to show it was actually Ryu jumping up high in the air and then slashed the screen with his swords.

**(****Mou gaman bakka shiterannai yo ****iitai koto wa iwanakucha****) **The screen split into three from the slashes and now shows Ryu jumping across rooftops with Asia on his back and Kuroka and Shirone following behind him, all of them smiling in joy.

**(****Kaerimichi yuugure no basutei ****ochikonda senaka ni Bye Bye Bye!)** The scenery switches to show Rias and Sona playing a game of chess against each other in the ORC Clubroom and their Peerages doing other miscellaneous things or watching their Kings play.

**(****Kimi no Fighting Pose misenai Oh! ****Oh!****)** The scene swapped again to show Ryu standing in the middle of the streets at nighttime, now in his serious personality. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he leapt towards the screen and punches it. This caused it to shatter to small shards of glass.

**(****Yume ni made mita you na sekai wa ****arasoi mo naku heiwa na nichi jyou!****) **Now it demonstrates Ryu blocking a punch from Dohnaseek and counters with a punch of his own to the face, knocking him away. Next, he ducks to avoid a kick from behind by Kalawarner and counters with an uppercut that sent her flying. Lastly, he launches a beam of bronze colored energy at Mittlet that destroyed the incoming light spears in the process.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa hibi to rabu te ****tama ni kuyandari shiteru) **Swiftly turning around, Ryu charges towards Raynare, his gauntlet at the ready and jumps in the air to reach her with an open hand and she responds to throwing a light spear at him.

**(Sonna ROLLING DAYS!) **The entire screen went white right after.

**(Short Instrumental) **_A short series of flashbacks of all the times he fought against his foes that included Stray Devils, Freed, and the Fallen Angels play in his mind._

**(****Kitto uso nante sou imi wo motanai no) **Ryu falls to the floor, the bangs of his hair covers his eyes, and blood littered his torn up clothes and body.

**(All my loving… ****Sou janakya yatterannai!) **Two hands are offered in front of him and looks up to see Rias, Kiba, Akeno, and Asia and the hands belonging to Kuroka and Shirone.

**(Yume ni made mita you na Sweet Love****koibitotachi wa kakure ga wo sagasu no) **Ryu gladly took the assistance and stood back up on his feet.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa aenai hi ga****tsuzuki nagara mo shinjitru no Lonely days****) **Slowly raising his hand up, Ryu summons his Boosted Gear once more. The gem shines brightly and gives the white background made by the shining moon a more vibrant and beautiful color.

**(Tsumazuitatte Way to go! ****Yeah! Yeah!) **The group behind Ryu smiles at seeing him stand up and as he raised his armored hand up in the air.

**(Dorodarake ROLLING STAR!) **The screen soon becomes engulfed in a sea of green light by the gauntlet.

**End ending song**

* * *

**And that's all she wrote! Or… What I wrote… But I'm a guy… Bah whatever! I hope you all enjoyed it! I also hope you enjoyed that small "Lime" scene. Some things to clear up: Ryu **_**is**_** indeed****on Rank 2/Middle Class level, he is just able to practice and control his energy extremely well and knows how to use his physical capabilities in a battle that he can also enhance even further with magic. He has been in life and death battles after all that's backed up by the fact he fights alone, so he will naturally find ways to improve himself in combat ways. One last thing as well: I'm changing-slash-adding abilities of the Boosted Gear. Just one thing so far that can be said is the fact that when he "Boosts," his power doesn't exactly double in the way you all mightbe thinking. Take for example, the number 5. When just summoning the Boosted Gear, it turns to a 10 as usual. But when using the actual "Boosts," it turns to 15. It goes like this: 5+5=10, 10+5=15 instead of 5x2=10, 10x2=20 like in the original show. It's still **_**essentially **_**doubling the user's power, but in a watered down way. It's to make it less OP in my mind and regulate it. In my perspective, no one would be able to make it past 5 to 7 Boosts if it worked by multiplying by 2 especially when using Explosion afterwards. Speaking of that, "Explosion," however, is when it multiplies the power of the user that is combined with the Boosts by 2 instead and makes the wielder's overall abilities more destructive. If anyone has any confusions from this, then just type it in the reviews or PM me and I'll gladly answer through either AN or PM back.**


	8. Friendship of a Lifetime

**Fresh made chapter! Still warm and straight out of the laptop! Get them while they're still good! Phew… Aside from my sides from hurting thanks to laughing my butt off at my own joke that others will probably say it stinks.**

**Time for reviews!**

**AidosX: It was short, highly sexual, and it didn't involve actual sex so it is a lime. It's understandable that it doesn't seem like a lime since it **_**is **_**HS DXD and there are also many, **_**many **_**other stories with explicitly sexual scenes. Plus, it was a light-hearted lime. More time will pass and the limes will get heavier until they finally become lemons. I highly doubt there will be a smut since I can't type around 5k chapter filled with just sex.**

**Blazedragon94: I'll reveal this much: The next 4 volumes will be consisting of other Factions reacting to Ryu. Negatively and positively. Reactions will spread from the news of a human with no supernatural lineage was able to defeat a certain someone in the end of this volume. Just to alleviate that possible disappointment from my answer in your previous inquiry, it is natural that his two psyches will screw him over. Take for example the fight with Freed: He got shot multiple times just from the switch in personalities.**

**WeeDevil: Thank you, thank you. I very much appreciate that. Also, after speaking with my good friend, Relic of White Shadows about that, I became confused whether or not Ryu will have a harem. It was originally going to be only Kuroka and Shirone. I know for damn sure it will not be **_**huge**_** because Ryu is an extension of me and I know for a fact that I could not handle many girls! After finally going in a consensus with myself, I made a decision aaannnd… Stick to the story to find out! Heheh.**

**Onwards**** to the story!**

**I still don't own Highschool DxD!**

"I refuse to give up!" – Speech  
_"I can't keep up…" – Thoughts/Flashbacks speech  
_**[Hang in there!]/[Boost!] – Ddraig speech  
**_**[Through the thick and thin, partner.] – Ddraig thoughts/Flashback speech**_

* * *

**Opening: Sympathy by Larval Stage Planning**

**(Tomo ni mou ichido tachiagare ****mamore hitotsu no inochi…) **The camera shows Ryu landing on the ground and narrowing his eyes at the Peerage of Riser as they prepare themselves for combat. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he charges at them and the green gem begins to glow.

**(****Tayasanu yo niiii!) **The glow stopped and the upcoming clash is replaced with the picture of the Boosted Gear itself across the screen horizontally and the title appears in the middle.

**_"古伝の竜守る Vol 0: 不羈 (Legend of the Dragon Protector, Vol 0: Freedom)"_**

Then the gauntlet and title turn to shiny green particles.

**(****Futatabi otozureta yoake ni me ga samete kimi wo omoi dasu yume no tochuu) **The particles vanished to show the ORC Club and scrolls from left to right to show Rias to Kiba, Akeno, Asia, and finally to Shirone and Kuroka. All of them smiling towards the camera.

**(Me no mae no zanzo susumanai ashidori ****toozakatte yuku hiriki na boku) **Once more, the scenery switched to the Student Council Room and scrolled from right to left this time to show Sona, Tsubaki, Saji, Momo, Reya, Tsubasa, Rukuro, and Tomoe, all smiling at the camera as well.

**(Taisetsu na mono wa doko ni aru? ****Ashita wo shinjiru nara wasurenaide!) **The screen returned back to Ryu charging towards Riser's Peerage and the camera panned to the females and zooms past them and closes in on Riser's smirking face.

**(Ima koso saa inochi wo kakete susumi dasu toki****omoi ga tsuyoi hodo tsuyokunaru!)** Ryu dodges, parries, and counters the attacks of the servants in the Phenex's Peerage and heads straight for Riser after dealing with the females.

**(Hengen suru tsugihagi darake no risou dewa****sugu ni kiete shimau kara!) **Riser flies up in the air with his fire wings and Ryu follows suit with his energy being released through the sole of his feet and shoes and clash high in the sky with fist against fist, kicks against kick, and yellowish colored fires against copper colored lasers.

**(Towa e tsuzuku kawasu chikai****furue dashita karada no soko kara!) **Ryu slowly held up his Sacred Gear and the jewel shines once more with a light so intense that made Riser cover his eyes from its intensity. Red flames spread around Ryu's entire body and an armored silhouette slowly makes it appearance within the flames with emerald green eyes piercing through the red fire.

**End opening song**

* * *

_**Nighttime, Ryu's Neighborhood: Ryu**_

"Sigh…" Sigh indeed. Our favorite and mute hero has recently got out of the ORC Building after getting a piece of paper all signed up to register himself as a club member just after showing them the Boosted Gear.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

_Ryu and the Peerage members have arrived back in the ORC Building. Said Peerage were still looking a bit shocked from witnessing someone fight and defeat _three _Stray Devils with skill, grace, and had no visible trouble doing so at all. Even if Viser was weakened, the feat was not a walk in the park. Propping himself on the couch, Ddraig made his presence once more._

_**[I believe this answered the question of what Sacred Gear my partner uses, Gremory?]**_

_Rias and the others jump a bit from the sudden entrance that Ddraig made. Still, she answered Ddraig back, "Y-yes… Thank you very much for relieving some worries I had. It shows that you really trusts us and we are thankful for that." Rias bows politely towards Ryu and Ddraig. __**[We as well thanking you for being able to trust us as well.] **__Ryu stands up and bows next. __**[Although… There is **_**one **_**thing you could do for partner…]**_

_Rias tilts her head in an adorable fashion while wondering out loud, "What is it?" __**[For him to join your club.] **__A piece of paper was already in front of Ryu just before Ddraig could finish his sentence. "Please, we would like you to join." This time, Akeno joins in with Rias in bowing. Ryu blinks twice and shrugs. He reads through the paper and after finding out it really is just for school documentation to prove he is joining, he signed it._

_Kiba and Shirone smile at the new addition in their club. Even if it was just a font and their bishounen senpai knew that, it still meant more time to hang out with him._

_**Flashback End**_

* * *

He has noted that Shirone has been more and more open with him regardless of her fellow Peerage members' presence and he was proud of her for that. Understandably, she would be upset at the race who mistreated her from the beginning, hunted her down, taken her away from a quiet life after successfully escaping with her sister, and almost executed by said race only to be saved by becoming a Peerage member _again_.

Granted, she at least has had a nice life being a Peerage member of the Gremory Heiress and she has been cooperative and respectful for that. Still, his mind wandered back to Asia. He grit his teeth at the memory. Someone so innocent was violated by someone else who was insane and a monstrosity not to mention the fact that she was in the hands of the Fallen Angels and that did not sit well in his mind. How was she a Stray Nun? It didn't make sense at all!

Ryu stopped walking and pulled himself out of the theories and ideas.

Corneas and pupils immediately shrunk up to half of their original size.

He was being followed.

Turning around, he swiftly scans behind him and notices a shadow peeking out from the corner of a house.

_**Tap tap tap**_

He taps the tip of his left shoe against the concrete street walk with his arms crossed. This basically was a way of saying that he found where the person following is and that they should reveal themselves to which the stalker fully does so.

"My, my. I didn't think I'd be found to begin with." The blue-haired bombshell with the thigh length trench coat made her appearance. "There goes my opportunity for a silent assassination." The woman sighs and moves a strand of her hair behind her ear. Ryu frowns and takes out his notepad to write on. Kalawarner rose an eyebrow at how he was writing whilst having an eye on her still. "So you are mute as Dohnaseek and Raynare said."

Ryu ignores that and shows her his writing, "We don't have to fight. I don't bare ill-will against any of you. It might have been a bit hurtful on 'Yuuma's' part to betray me, but I won't hold it against any of you. Except that crazy Stray Exorcist. I would like to end his life for bringing pain to others."

The blue haired Fallen Angel smirks at what she just read, "While I agree he is quite loose in the head, he is a valuable ally. As to our mission in killing you… You are a threat. You wield a Longinus, the Boosted Gear even up to using it well enough to take out our leader of this operation. As orders from one of the Cadres, I must follow them through and through. Even if you've spared her." After stating her conviction, Kalawarner summons a bright, yellow colored spear of tainted light. "My name is Kalawarner and I shall be your opponent, Ryu Mamoru."

_**FLAP!**_

Black, feathery wings sprout from her back and she takes it to the skies. Ryu simply keeps his pupils trained on her that are now in between their shrunken size and their original size thanks to his two psyches conflicted in which one takes over. It didn't bother his fighting capabilities though. _**[I already have the analysis. Strength: 2, Speed: 2, Endurance: 1, Magic: 1. While this can be statistically easy for you to win, do take caution.] **_Ryu mentally nods and backflips away from an incoming spear that crashed down where he stood and left a hole in the ground when it impacted the concrete.

Kalawarner summons another spear and flies down to strike. Ryu tilts his head to prevent the attack from making contact. Landing back to the sturdy earth, she begins a barrage of slashes with two spears now. Ryu still kept dodging and weaving out of harm's way with only slight difficulty. Upon seeing an opening to change the flow of this close quarters combat, Ryu uses his forearms to redirect the direction of the slashes away. Finally seeing a great opportunity through an opening that his foe made, Ryu places one index finger on the woman's chest, just above her breasts.

Kalawarner's eyes widened in fear at just seeing her opponent make physical contact with her collarbone. Immediately, she tenses her muscles and prepares to jump or fly back.

_**Boom!**_

Ryu has just performed the deadly one inch punch. He concentrated his energy and momentum to make her entire body feel the force instead of being flown away due to the attack. The force was so incredible, that pressurized rings of air and sound appeared behind her thanks to the force inside the punch that just passed her entire body.

_**Crack!**_

Kalawarner gasps for lost breath and cringed in pain at feeling her collarbone fractured in more places than one. On instinct, she flies high up once more to obtain the chance to collect herself from the pain. "S-she even knew how to use her own magic to enhance her body's abilities even before officially joining the ranks… Hah… That's why she's our leader and is considered gifted with magical reserves and potential with it. Y-you… Have that same skill and controlling your… Body's abilities too… Just like those monks I hear tales about..." Readying her dual spears, she flies back down in an intense speed.

_**Slow Motion…**_

_Kalawarner descends to at an intense speed towards Ryu with her spear ready for a slashing motion. Ryu, in the nick of time, jumps upwards to dodge the swipe and counterattacks with a kick to her back._

_**Normal Speed…**_

_**CRUNCH!**_

An unnatural crunching sound resounded from the Fallen Angel hitting the ground, spider web looking cracks appearing on the cement she was kicked against. Ryu used the rebounding force from the kick to launch himself up in the air and land safely a few meters away from her.

"Cough! Cough! A-as expected… I should have figured fighting you was no easy matter." Kalawarner pulls herself out of being implanted to the earth and coughing a bit of blood from the force of both the kick and impact. Her eyes widened when she felt something or someone pulling her up. It was Ryu. He was grabbing Kalawarner by her shoulders and lifted her up from the ground and placed her back on her feet on the street walk.

_**FWISH!**_

Ryu jumps back in surprise at the still present signs of hostility that came from his foe. Kalawarner lowers her weapon and stares deeply into Ryu's eyes that were back to their original size. "As kind as that act was, you are my enemy and it would be beneficial for you to act the same towards me." Kalawarner throws a spear at Ryu who caught it. Her eyes widened and she sees what Ryu held on his other hand that was his written notepad:

"You can't beat me. It's not just a question of who is stronger in what way, but because you lack the need to improve yourself, better yourself in every way possible and the ability to focus on both your instinct and wits in a fight at the same time. Adaption, in short." Ryu crushes the spear and flips the page to show what else he wrote, "You don't have the need of having to survive and strive and to evolve your abilities. I do. And because of me having this, you can't beat me."

Her face contorted in anger from what she meant. "Really now? Then ho-" she ceases to speak and expression turns more analytic at his words that were beginning to ring true. She understood he meant by him being a human. Humans always struggled the most out of any other race or faction out there. Yet they kept coming back, even better than before and that included suffering from the aftermaths in the fights between the supernatural. She is aware of the history in humans and she is definitely not dumb to figure it out that he had more combat capabilities and skill from surviving.

She needed to work with the others if they needed a chance to win. It was a plan that was required to take down someone who was able to beat their leader with only suffering a cut on his cheek.

Kalawarner grimly smirks at reading this, "I see… It makes even more sense in why God gave Sacred Gears to only your race. Even more so of a nuisance when they are said to be indestructible and can keep growing more powerful with the user, especially the Thirteen Longinus. Very well, I will retreat from this fight. For now. I understand that I've simply been toyed with the entire time. A warning though: With what you said, it gives more reason to us that you truly are a threat to us. Farewell, Ryu Mamoru." Upon bidding the brown haired male, she flies and departs to the skies.

Ryu's eyes turn to sadness and scratches his head in confusion. "…." **[That was… Strange indeed. I understand that she accepted she could not win. It is just that… I do not understand why continue to attack you if you've shown no ill-will.] **Ryu shrugs with confusion that matched Ddraig's. **[Oh, how the supernatural have fallen… No pun intended. Actually, pun intended.] **Ryu silently chuckles at Ddraig's attempt to be funny.** [Let us return for you to rest, partner. I was believing you could spend a bit of time meditating to control your magic system until this occurred so suddenly.] **After fixing the damages caused by the short fight, Ryu turns to the direction his house is at and begins his walk.

* * *

_**Morning, Kuoh Park**_

The night and morning events were both uneventful and also relatively peaceful for Ryu. Speaking of Ryu, he is currently sitting on a bench at the park where he and Asia first met, wondering in why he didn't follow Kalawarner to find their secret base. He knows that the church is a definite spot they could be at but at the same time, they could be somewhere one would not suspect at all. He didn't feel anything from the church either, so that could mean a spell to block their presence is in effect or it truly is just what it is as an abandoned church.

Ryu rubs his head in frustration and the nasty headache he's getting from thinking in all the possibilities and variables. Even if he didn't know this, it was easier for him to think in his combative self and not his innocent self. Not that he was aware he had two personalities. It involved with his trauma in this mysterious situation where he would automatically and mentally shut himself out when someone mentions of his two sides.

"Ryu-san?"

Ryu's eyes widen and looks to his side to see the blonde haired nun. She also looked shocked herself.

* * *

_**Kuoh Streets: Ryu and Asia**_

After a hug fest at the park, Ryu wanted to give Asia a proper tour around parts of Kuoh City to get her familiarized. "This is one of my favorite places." Asia reads the notepad and looks at the fast food restaurant called, "Speedy Dragon." Asia stares at the name, blinking the entire time. Ryu nervously glances at Asia, "Ehh… It's not the best name for a restaurant… They still make the pretty awesome hot dogs and burgers!" Asia fidgets a bit. "Um… I can't read it to begin with…"

"….." Ryu didn't try to say anything this time, it was just him being silent, and Asia nervously laughs at the tense atmosphere. Ryu, wanting to end his embarrassment, takes the blonde girl by the hand and enters the restaurant with her.

* * *

_**Speedy Dragon Restaurant**_

So here they are, at the Speedy Dragon fast food restaurant. Ryu already ordered a bacon and cheese hamburger, a melted nacho cheese hot dog wrapped in bacon, and root beer for her to try out.

Meanwhile, with Mr. Mute and Awkward over here, has about 30 hamburgers and hot dogs around him and 3 cookies 'n' cream milkshakes to drink.

Ladies and gentlemen, observe this rare and special mutus awkwardus (mute, awkward) in his natural habitat. Shoving burgers and inhaling hot dogs in his mouth and into his stomach as if he was starving for almost a month. This could almost remind you of a male and mute version of Shirone that is addicted to meat, bacon, cheese, and milkshakes instead of chocolate, ice cream, candy, and dessert.

Yeah, imagine the amount of attention he's getting right about now.

"GO GO GO GO GO GO GO!"

Those are the people here to watch the "mutus awkwardus" eat to his heart's content.

Wwwhiiiiiiich said heart would be dead if he was still a normal human.

Asia just keeps blinking at seeing the Boosted Gear wielder go nuts at the food.

_**[Partner… You should calm down… The food is not going anywhere.] **_Alas, that fact fell upon deaf ears as Ryu kept eating away the food. The employees in the back smile at their regular customer that comes around here. They enjoyed his visits of not only buying so much food, but also taking the time to communicate with them. Some of the female employees squealed in delight at the sight of their Ryu striking a score with a nun! They didn't know the truth, of course. But why ruin their fantasies, right?

_**Gulp!**_

Thus concluded the one-sided gulp-down against Ryu and his food and drinks. His gaze fixates on Asia and smiles. Taking out the trusty notepad that seemed to never run out of space, he writes, "Go ahead and try it. You'll like it for sure!" Asia nervously nods. "Y-yes…" She takes a bite of her unwrapped burger.

_**Munch munch munch**_

_**Gulp**_

"Eh? EEEEEHHH!?" Asia stares at the marvelous food called "hamburgers," eyes twinkling in dreaminess and content. "This is wonderful~!" Ryu places an elbow against the table and uses his fist of that same arm as a way for his cheek to lean on, a satisfied grin plastered on his face the entire time. Asia tries out the hot dog next and the response was a squeal of delight, "Yum~! It's so delicious~!" Asia starts eating the hot dog and hamburger before trying out the shake which also made her go deep into bliss.

The crowd went wild at seeing the ruling man of eating fast food finish his entire order and the nun trying her first fast food.

* * *

_**Tomodachi Arcade**_

Inside another corny named place, Ryu is currently teaching Asia how to play a racing game._** [You're evil yet kind at the same time, partner. Using her flight instincts to make dodge all the cars and obstacles as she keeps playing the game. At least she's winning.] **_Ryu silently chuckles at Ddraig's words and at being discovered of his hidden motive. Asia cheered and hugged Ryu when she finally won the racing game who he hugs back.

Deciding it was time for them to leave, Ryu leads Asia to the exit.

That was the plan until he spotted Asia staring in a Pocket Monsters claw machine. Tracing her line of sight, he sees a familiar and well-known yellow mouse that can create or conduct electricity and it was buried in other stuffed animals. Stopping from heading to the exit, he walks towards the machine and inserts the appropriate amount of Yen in order to play.

Asia's curious eyes observe Ryu play the crane machine game and winning stuffed animals in each one. Each time he kept winning, the more the yellow mouse resurfaced. He didn't even seem to be going for the other stuffed toys if by him continuing to play is any form of showing.

_**Clunk!**_

Ryu finally lets out a breath of relief once he won the mouse. Dropping to a knee, he begins to take the other stuffed toys he won until he got the one he wanted for the kind nun. He stands back up and holds it out to her. She looks up to him with hopeful eyes at the gesture. "R-really…?" Ryu nods with vigor and hands the plush toy to her. "U-um… Th-thank y-you… What are you going to do with the ones you have though?" Excellent question. The answer Ryu gave her via notepad was, "I'll give them away to those who need it, don't worry about it."

* * *

_**Kuoh Fountain**_

After donating the plush toys, Ryu led Asia to the Kuoh Fountain which was the largest fountain that can be found in this city.

And it was _huge_.

"Thank you for getting me this toy, Ryu…" Asia snuggles the mouse plush happily. Ryu smiles at this and pets Asia's head. Ryu stiffens at remembering something and takes out his notepad, "How is it that you were excommunicated anyway? If I can know."

(Cue: Pulling Heart Strings)

Asia looks down sadly, "It began when I was just a baby… I was dropped in front of a church by my parents in a small town back at Europe." Ryu's eyes widened at the tale that sounded familiar to Kiba's. Asia sadly smiles at the next part, "The nice nuns took me in and told me how I would never stop crying." Ryu enthusiastically chuckles at that. Maybe he was also a crybaby when he was still a newborn.

Asia looks up at the sky to see the free-roaming clouds. "When I was around 8 years old, a lost and sad puppy wandered inside the church where I still lived. It was injured so I just prayed for God to help this puppy heal and the next thing I knew, a miracle happened…! I healed him to full health." Ryu smiles more at that part, thinking how ironic that God did technically still heal the puppy. "Just a bit after that, I was sent to a much larger church because of my power to heal all these people who were injured or even those that were terminally ill. When I found out my gift could do the miracles that God bestowed upon me, I felt so happy and so glad that I could be someone to help others, to have a purpose in my life!" Ryu looks down, smiling sadly at what he figured could come next in her tale.

Asia still continued with her story, "One day though, I saw someone who was in a critical condition and even close to death…" Ryu shook his head at the next part he knew that was going to be. He was unable to accept the sad fact of what was going to be told next. "I healed him, but… That someone was a man and he was… A Devil…" Asia stops momentarily from remembering the things they told her:

"_SHE HAS THE POWER TO HEAL DEVILS!"_

"_DEMON!"_

"_SHE'S A WITCH! BURN HER!"_

"_HERETIC!"_

With an iron will, she pressed on with her tale of sadness, "I was called a heretic for my kind of power… My best choice was to leave and never come back… Then I joined the fallen ones... But... I no longer want to be with them after finding out what they do..." Asia turns to see Ryu holding his notepad, "I have your kind of power, Asia. And it's not one to be considered as something that defies God if it was a gift bestowed upon to you by Him. If it had the power to heal any race, then that means God does love everyone and anyone. Even Devils. He would not give someone that kind of power if it was not true."

Asia gasps at this revelation. The one friend she made was similar to her? Ryu holds up his left arm and…

**[BOOST!]**

A red gauntlet appeared on that same, extended left arm. Bright red that had green symbols around it, a yellow spike that jutted out from each side, and a green jewel where the back of his hand is. Moving his now clawed fingers of his large and bulky gauntlet, he speaks, "…." Asia's breath was caught in her throat when she _understood_ what he said in a way. He said something about Ddraig speaking to her. What did he mean by that?

**[Greetings, Argento.]**

"Hyah!?" Jumping to standing position, she quickly looks around to see who spoke.

**[Look down, Argento. I'm the one who resides in the gauntlet you just witnessed. These gifts to humans by God are called "Sacred Gears." Yours is called, Twilight Healing and as the term "Twilight" in the name instigates, you can heal any of the three races from the 3 Great Powers. Partner's is called Boosted Gear, the ability to endlessly double the user's power as long as the user can handle it.] **And at that fact stated, she looks back at the gauntlet. "S-so Ryu really does have my power…? 'Sacred Gear'… Oh! U-um… H-hello… Gauntlet-san...!" **[My name is Ddraig and it is a pleasure to meet a kind spirit such as yourself. Thank you for being a friend of partner's. He truly needs more in his life.] **Asia's eyes widened again, "F-friend…?" She looks down, "My life goal was to finally have friends to last a lifetime…" Looking back at Ryu, she asks, "Will you be one of those friends?" Asia jumps slightly from surprise upon Ryu suddenly hugging her.

"_I'm already your friend… Asia."_

Asia offers a tear-stained smile and hugs Ryu back.

(End: Pulling Heart Strings)

"I hate to interrupt this moment, but I'll be taking back our nun, human." Ryu immediately lets Asia go in order to turn around and face the Fallen Angel that betrayed him by attempt of murder…

Yuuma.

Said Fallen Angel gasps in shock and fear at seeing the one who defeated her and could have killed her. "Y-you're… Ryu…" Ryu just responds to her shock and fear with silence. His eyes still show he is in his innocent self which still does not hinder his combat prowess if they end up fighting. The leader of the group of Fallen Angel and Stray Exorcists float on top of the water in her true self, wings spread out to keep her in the air. "Mittlet! I require assistance!"

_**Zoom!**_

_**Crasshh!**_

Ryu swats away the incoming projectile with his Gear without seeing the Fallen Angel that took Asia back to their base of operations last night. The one now revealed "Mittlet" is a female with a body of a preteen, dressed in a black color, gothic lolita outfit. Her blonde and wavy hair is kept in twin tails by also black colored ribbons. Her blue eyes filled with equal shock and fear that the human completely obliterated her spear that was backed up by more magic than normal and her reserves were second only to Raynare in their group.

"Dohnaseek, can you help us!?" To respond the blonde Fallen Angel's request, a spear of tainted light whizzes towards the brown haired male. Naturally, he catches it with the unarmed hand when sensing its low enough to be caught without any chance of anything happening for doing so, and crushes it in his hand.

"Tch… Told you I'm not as adept in magic as you or Raynare." The man whom always wears a gray fedora appears from behind some trees.

Ryu's eyes look from foe to foe. _**[The young, female one has Strength: Rank 1, Speed: Rank 2, Endurance: Rank 1, and Magic: Rank 2. The male has Strength: Rank 2, Speed: Rank 1, Endurance: Rank 2, and Magic: Rank 1.] **_He nods at his draconic companion for the helpful information and looks up to see all three are flying up in the air now.

"Mittlet, Dohnaseek, I'm going to need you two to at least distract him. Don't fight him, you will just lose." Dohnaseek frowns at the chance for an awesome fight. Even if he did lose, he loved a good battle. To the death or not. But the orders were far more important for good reason, so he nods to it. Mittlet, being the fan of Raynare as always, nods enthusiastically.

The next thing Ryu knew, was that he was being thrown spears of tainted light. He was about to grab Asia until one particular pink colored spear sped towards him and _exploded _right in front of him, launching him quite a distance back. He still righted himself in midair and landed perfectly on the ground albeit with a bit of remaining friction. Now sporting heavy singes on his face and burns on his clothing, he runs back to where Asia was.

That _was_ the plan until…

_**BAM!**_

He was punched in the face by Dohnaseek and sent flying to crash, back-first into a tree that resulted in said tree breaking in half. Just about when Ryu prepares to get out of the tree to go back to Asia once more…

_**Zoom! Zoom zoom zoom zoom!**_

He was forced to repeatedly backflip in order to avoid the hailstorm of light spears that came from Mittlet.

"NOOO! LET ME GO!"

"Mittlet! Dohnaseek! I got her!" The two look at each other and nod at the agreement to leave, deserting the brown haired high schooler who rushes back just in time to see the three Fallen Angels and Asia taken inside a portal "Yuuma" created. In a futile effort to save the nun, he jumps towards the portal. It was too late though. The portal closed even before he could get even a meter close.

_**Splash!**_

Was the sound made when Ryu fell in the fountain. The sound made from his failure to protect the one girl that didn't have to put up with this. His tears could not be differentiated by the water of the fountain that was on his face.

Why? Why couldn't he still save her? Just because he was taken by surprise? How disappointing…

_**FWOOOOM!**_

Once more, Ryu finds himself in the red tint and flaming red part of psyche.

**[Partner… Are you so willing to just give up?]**

No response.

**[Did all that power, all that training, the accomplishments, truly go to waste?]**

A twitch was made from Ddraig's question.

**[Then let me remind you the reason for this power!] **Spreading his wings and flames, the red dragon continues, **[You've wanted power to protect those you cared for and defeat the ones who brought harm! You have been training and fighting for these two years to take back what they took and fill in what you lost! I REFUSE TO HAVE SOMEONE WHO GIVES UP AS MY PARTNER!]**

Finally, Ryu at least gets up on his knees. "…"

**[I DO NOT ACCEPT HAVING SOMEONE WHO MADE PROMISES AND ACCOMPLISHES ALL FOR NAUGHT! WILL YOU TRULY BE THOSE FAILURES THAT WERE YOUR PREDECESSORS!?]**

Standing back to his feet, he deftly ignores the water present in his clothing, hair, and skin. One thing was for sure, his eyes showed rekindled force and power. He spoke in a voice that sounded like multiple males and females, both young and old, all speaking at the same time.

"_**I… Will not allow them to take what I hold precious… Anymore…"**_

**[Then go! Show them to never cross you again! To show them they cannot do whatever they please!]**

So he closed his eyes and focused. Concentrating, he begins to search for those familiar signs of energy. He concentrates further and forces his senses more and more.

!?

He found it! Close to 50 signatures out in the hills!

Wait…

That's at the abandoned church! So his first assumption was right!

Ryu's eyes switch to his serious self and rushes to the location as he opened them back up, intent to save the poor girl from the malevolent clutches of those Stray Devils and Fallen Angels.

He will _**NOT **_give up!

He _**WILL **_save Asia!

* * *

_**ORC Room: Rias and her Peerage**_

Akeno walks back inside the clubroom where everyone else is present. "Buchou…" The thunder priestess approaches her King and whispers in her ear. Rias' expression darkens. "It is about time… They overstayed their welcome. Kiba, Shirone." The Knight and Rook stand up from their seats. "We're leaving. Prepare yourselves. It won't be like any Stray Devil fights any of us have faced, that, I can assure you all."

* * *

_**Abandoned Church: "Yuuma" and the others.**_

"_Damn! I can sense him coming this way already! How did he find us!? No matter, we need to continue the ritual." _"Kalawarner, prepare Asia for the ritual." "NO! I don't want to join you anymore! You hurt the only friend I had!" Asia uselessly struggles against Kalawarner's grip and the magically chains she's being placed upon. "Mittlet, Dohnaseek, we're going to stop Ryu ourselves. I can't trust our exorcists to do the job since they'll just die. Freed will probably get in the way during the fight. I'll fill Kalawarner in on the details of joining on this battle once she's finished." Mittlet and Dohnaseek both nod at this and head to the lower and hidden level inside the church.

"Yuuma," now alone, bites the tip of her thumb from anticipation and nervousness. They might be four Fallen Angels, but he had a Longinus and two blades. A holy and demonic one. His power and skill outmatched each one of them. Their numbers and teamwork would be their only upper hand. She begins to second guess herself and what she has done.

"_Maybe it was wrong to do this because I have a bad feeling that things are about to come crashing down..."_

_**To be continued…**_

* * *

**Ending: Rolling Star by Yui**

**(Yume ni made mita you na sekai de arasoi no naku heiwa ni kurashitai) **Camera shows the streets and buildings of Kuoh City that had fast moving shadows of bestial and demonic looking creatures. Suddenly, a human shaped shadow carrying what seemed to be two swords, lunging at the other shadows and the camera panned to show it was actually Ryu jumping up high in the air and then slashed the screen with his swords.

**(****Mou gaman bakka shiterannai yo ****iitai koto wa iwanakucha****) **The screen split into three from the slashes and now shows Ryu jumping across rooftops with Asia on his back and Kuroka and Shirone following behind him, all of them smiling in joy.

**(****Kaerimichi yuugure no basutei ****ochikonda senaka ni Bye Bye Bye!)** The scenery switches to show Rias and Sona playing a game of chess against each other in the ORC Clubroom and their Peerages doing other miscellaneous things or watching their Kings play.

**(****Kimi no Fighting Pose misenakya Oh! ****Oh!****)** The scene swapped again to show Ryu standing in the middle of the streets at nighttime, now in his serious personality. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he leapt towards the screen and punches it. This caused it to shatter to small shards of glass.

**(****Yume ni made mita you na sekai wa ****arasoi mo naku heiwa na nichi jyou!****) **Now it demonstrates Ryu blocking a punch from Dohnaseek and counters with a punch of his own to the face, knocking him away. Next, he ducks to avoid a kick from behind by Kalawarner and counters with an uppercut that sent her flying. Lastly, he launches a beam of bronze colored energy at Mittlet that destroyed the incoming light spears in the process.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa hibi to rabu te ****tama ni kuyandari shiteru) **Swiftly turning around, Ryu charges towards Raynare, his gauntlet at the ready and jumps in the air to reach her with an open hand and she responds to throwing a light spear at him.

**(Sonna ROLLING DAYS!) **The entire screen went white right after.

**(Short Instrumental) **_A short series of flashbacks of all the times he fought against his foes that included Stray Devils, Freed, and the Fallen Angels play in his mind._

**(****Kitto uso nante sou imi wo motanai no) **Ryu falls to the floor, the bangs of his hair covers his eyes, and blood littered his torn up clothes and body.

**(All my loving… ****Sou janakya yatterannai!) **Two hands are offered in front of him and looks up to see Rias, Kiba, Akeno, and Asia and the hands belonging to Kuroka and Shirone.

**(Yume ni made mita you na Sweet Love ****koibitotachi wa kakure ga wo sagasu no) **Ryu gladly took the assistance and stood back up on his feet.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa aenai hi ga****tsuzuki nagara mo shinjiteru no Lonely days****) **Slowly raising his hand up, Ryu summons his Boosted Gear once more. The gem shines brightly and gives the white background made by the shining moon a more vibrant and beautiful color.

**(Tsumazuitatte Way to go! ****Yeah! Yeah!) **The group behind Ryu smiles at seeing him stand up and as he raised his armored hand up in the air.

**(Dorodarake ROLLING STAR!) **The screen soon becomes engulfed in a sea of green light by the gauntlet.

**End ending song**

* * *

**Got the heebie-jeebies now, eh? Hopefully you do. I'm trying to add as much tension as possible even if most of you know how this all ends up. Just the process is the only thing you all don't know, of course. Understandably, I'm trying to hurry this volume up as quickly yet as effectively as possible. Why? Because you all know of how this entire volume will go to be honest. There are over 2,000 HS DXD stories before mine (adding crossovers and fanfictions together) and half or most of them have this same scenario and I understand that it could get boring after seeing the same thing so many times so I'm trying to make it as different as possible. Not sure how that's going though. You'll have to wait a legitimate week or two for the next chapter, that's for sure! I don't want to ruin what happens next with a speedy update and I want you all to be metaphorically biting your nails.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter either way!**


	9. Intervention - Part 1

**Because I don't want to spend too much time on the AN for this pretty important chapter, I'll move on to the reviews right away.**

**AidosX: Hahahahahaha- no. I'd rather not, Issei number 2. Uhh… That was a joke at the end, but seriously… No.**

**Guest: Please don't misunderstand; the Boosted Gear can still take down Gods and such beings using only Boosts and Explosions. I just made it so it's not supposed to be used so much and so many times and the wielder has to be strong enough to use it properly. Issei was only able to defeat his foes because of the original Boosted Gear's capacity of multiplying by 2 each Boost and Ryu does not need that and he would turn too overpowered too fast from it. Plus, the Boosted Gear has many more capabilities that can make up for the "water down" I did and it's not the only Sacred Gear I made changes to.**

**Tmax 99: Thank you very much. Truly, thank you. As you can see, I updated a blit earlier than the timeframe I promised. Enjoy.**

**perseus peverell: I am familiar with the power scale system from the original show. I simply chose to change it in my story. It's in the earlier chapters that I stated about this. I also mentioned that I'm changing the power level of characters. I'm changing many, many things from canon. Thanks for the reminder though. I do appreciate it.**

**I still don't own Highschool DxD!**

"I refuse to give up!" – Speech  
_"I can't keep up…" – Thoughts/Flashbacks speech__  
_**[Hang in there!]/[Boost!] – Ddraig speech****  
****_[Through the thick and thin, partner.] – Ddraig thoughts/Flashback speech_**

* * *

**Opening: Sympathy by Larval Stage Planning**

**(Tomo ni mou ichido tachiagare ****mamore hitotsu no inochi…) **The camera shows Ryu landing on the ground and narrowing his eyes at the Peerage of Riser as they prepare themselves for combat. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he charges at them and the green gem begins to glow.

**(****Tayasanu yo niiii!) **The glow stopped and the upcoming clash is replaced with the picture of the Boosted Gear itself across the screen horizontally and the title appears in the middle.

**_"古伝の竜守る Vol 0: 不羈 (Legend of the Dragon Protector, Vol 0: Freedom)"_**

Then the gauntlet and title turn to shiny green particles.

**(****Futatabi otozureta yoake ni me ga samete kimi wo omoi dasu yume no tochuu) **The particles vanished to show the ORC Club and scrolls from left to right to show Rias to Kiba, Akeno, Asia, and finally to Shirone and Kuroka. All of them smiling towards the camera.

**(Me no mae no zanzo susumanai ashidori ****toozakatte yuku hiriki na boku) **Once more, the scenery switched to the Student Council Room and scrolled from right to left this time to show Sona, Tsubaki, Saji, Momo, Reya, Tsubasa, Rukuro, and Tomoe, all smiling at the camera as well.

**(Taisetsu na mono wa doko ni aru? ****Ashita wo shinjiru nara wasurenaide!) **The screen returned back to Ryu charging towards Riser's Peerage and the camera panned to the females and zooms past them and closes in on Riser's smirking face.

**(Ima koso saa inochi wo kakete susumi dasu toki****omoi ga tsuyoi hodo tsuyokunaru!)** Ryu dodges, parries, and counters the attacks of the servants in the Phenex's Peerage and heads straight for Riser after dealing with the females.

**(Hengen suru tsugihagi darake no risou dewa****sugu ni kiete shimau kara!) **Riser flies up in the air with his fire wings and Ryu follows suit with his energy being released through the sole of his feet and shoes and clash high in the sky with fist against fist, kicks against kick, and yellowish colored fires against copper colored lasers.

**(Towa e tsuzuku kawasu chikai****furue dashita karada no soko kara!) **Ryu slowly held up his Sacred Gear and the jewel shines once more with a light so intense that made Riser cover his eyes from its intensity. Red flames spread around Ryu's entire body and an armored silhouette slowly makes it appearance within the flames with emerald green eyes piercing through the red fire.

**End opening song**

* * *

_**Last time**_

_Ryu's eyes switch to his serious self and rushes to the location as he opened them back up, intent to save the poor girl from the malevolent clutches of those Stray Devils and Fallen Angels._

_He will **NOT **give up!_

_He **WILL **save Asia!_

_..._

_"Buchou…" The thunder priestess approaches her King and whispers in her ear. Rias' expression darkens. "It is about time… They overstayed their welcome. Kiba, Shirone." The Knight and Rook stand up from their seats. "We're leaving. Prepare yourselves. It won't be like any Stray Devil fights any of us have faced, that, I can assure you all."_

_..._

_"Yuuma," now alone, bites the tip of her thumb from anticipation and nervousness. They might be four Fallen Angels, but he had a Longinus and two blades. A holy and demonic one. His power and skill outmatched each one of them. Their numbers and teamwork would be their only upper hand. She begins to second guess herself and what she has done._

"_Maybe it was wrong to do this because I have a bad feeling that things are about to come crashing down..."_

* * *

_**Abandoned Church…**_

Kalwarner was currently finishing up chaining Asia to the Sacred Gear extractor. It was fortunate enough that she mentally rejects her Twilight Healing and because of that, the extraction would be possible. Dohnaseek simply sits on one of the front row seats near Kalawarner. He has been patiently waiting for his comrade to finish up and groans in relief when she finally taped the blonde girl's mouth.

That nun has been yelling the **entire time**!

Kalawarner walks towards Dohnaseek. "It's done." He nods in acknowledgement. "Also… Did you notice a spell being placed around the hidden area here _only_?"

Dohnaseek immediately stands up. "Whe-"

(Cue: Rebellion)

_**CRASH!**_

A figure crashes through the window and combat rolls once the figure hits the ground.

Kalawarner and Dohnaseek ready their spears, charging them with as much magic energy as possible. That's when their faces were drained and shivers went up their spines.

A holy sword and demonic sword, both on each side of his hips. The terrifying red gauntlet on his left arm. And a cold, harsh, piercing gaze directed at the two.

The two regained their composure and lunged at Ryu, using their to make them faster.

**[BOOST!]**

Ryu lunges at the two and _leaps forward_, right in between the two and dodging their attacks with grace.

Placing his hands on the swords' hilt…

_**SLASH!**_

_**SLASH!**_

He struck upon Dohnaseek's leg with Ascalon and Kalawarner's arm with Gram.

Kalawarner and Dohnaseek both push the pain back. It was the worst kind of pain they ever felt in their entire lives. They need to focus though.

Ryu turns around to face his foes and rushes at the two.

**[BOOST!]**

Despite the wounds, the Fallen Angel duo press on to clash blades against their target.

_**CLANG CLANK CLINK FWISH!**_

Dohnaseek and Kalawarner try their damnest to dodge and block against the deadly swords. If they couldn't do such thing, they at least make sure to prevent any fatal areas to be stricken such as the jugular, head, or vital organs by being struck in other minor areas like their arms, shoulders, or legs.

They could tell those vital areas were his exact goal in this fight.

**[BOOST!]**

Ryu isn't exactly doing perfect either. He was getting simple nicks from the spears though those nicks were turning into gashes and some of those gashes were deep. He should not be able to harmed that badly since he was using a lot of Boosts, thus, increasing his overall power, but he figured out why it was happening. He didn't care though. He needed to end this once and for all. He even ensured his victory by Boosting during his trip here and even wait outside for a bit to be able to increase his overall abilities further via more Boosts.

_**[Partner, be aware that you have already passed the First Stage and you've already reached the Second Stage.]**_

The "Three Danger Stages" of the Boosted Gear. It is when someone uses the Boosted Gear's Boosting ability too much for their body to handle and begin to suffer the backlashes of it. First Stage is simply the wielder's muscles and magic system beginning to expand pass their limits. Second Stage is when it becomes obvious due to their aura beginning to naturally leak from the strain of the extra power and even the veins on the body will begin to show. Final Stage is where it can turn fatal; The body begins tearing itself apart such as the muscles and skin, creating internal and external damages along with their magic system overloading and becoming unstable.

If the Boosted Gear keeps being used after the third one, the user can no doubt kill themselves from the inside-out. Many past predecessors of Ryu have followed that fate and a few similar ones to that. It's the reason Ryu's small and insignificant cuts were being opened more and more to gashes.

**[BOOST!]**

Back in the fight, Ryu easily shrugs off and ignores the feeling of his magic and muscles increasing from the overuse and continues to lash out at the Fallen Angels. Thinking of a way to turn the odds to him, he blocks Kalawarner's light spear with Gram and using Ascalon to block Dohnaseek's spear of light, and locks them and himself in a power struggle against him and the two. A glint in his eyes were showing at seeing his plan finally in position, he switches stance and uses the force used in the power struggle to launch his swords and their spears away, disarming them and himself in order to open up the possibility for hand-to-hand.

_**STAB!**_

All four weapons stabbed the floor near the cross-shaped device Asia was on who had hope filled tears in her eyes when she saw Ryu fighting the Fallen Angels.

"_You can do it, Ryu!"_

**[BOOST!]**

Still having the glint in his eyes, he puts his fists up and begins engaging them in hand-to-hand combat. Left hook, right straight, left uppercut, right haymaker, he was a natural using his fists. Kalawarner and Dohnaseek both flinch and cringe at feeling of the brown hair's heavy and swift combos as they block with their arms, more so for Kalawarner. Their bones and muscles were feeling that they were about to break and turn to jelly respectively, which they were probably close to doing so.

**[BOOST!]**

Grabbing an arm that was of Dohnaseek's, he pulls the male Fallen Angel to him for a world of pain as his hands begin to glow green.

_**POW!**_

Ryu launches a right straight into Dohnaseek's stomach. He did not stop there, however. Ryu continued by launching a twice repeated, heavy one-two combo right at his face, each hit made sounded a lot like a shotgun being fired. Tilting his head to avoid a hit Kalawarner attempted to land, he prepared the meanest of attacks…

**[BOOST!]**

_**BAM!**_

He uppercuts Dohnaseek's stomach and the result?

He was launched straight to the ceiling and did that ceiling _break_.

Who said he _only_ knew of using his hands as weapons?

**[BOOST!]**

Ryu's line of intimidating gaze fell upon Kalawarner and the mentioned blue haired Fallen Angel took an involuntary step back. She regains her composure swiftly, though, and charges straight at the kid while preparing a new spear of light.

Ryu stood there impassively until she got in his range and when she did. He jumps and performs a roundhouse kick to her cheek. Regardless of the pain and impact, Kalawarner stood her ground.

**[BOOST!]**

Ryu didn't stop though. He launched a successful kick to the stomach, making her double over.

Then that's when it all went downhill for the poor female.

Ryu began to kick her repeatedly from her stomach up to her face and finished the combo with leaping a few inches off the ground and began spinning at a rapid pace with one of his feet extended and covered in the same green aura. She was kicked multiple times by that same foot that was coated with the green aura and launched to a wall when he performed that one last spin kick.

_**WHAM!**_

And this was all done before Dohnaseek fell back to the ground.

_**Thud!**_

Speaking of Dohnaseek, he and Kalawarner regain their bearings and the remains of their consciousness to attempt one last attack on the kid.

Ducking from an incoming fist Dohnaseek launched, Ryu prepares a counter, but Kalawarner leg swept him off of his footing. Determined to still be able to counter, Ryu lands on his hands, now hand-standing, and spins a complete 360 degrees with such speed that created pressurized air that surrounded his entire body during the spin with both feet stretched out, kicking the two in their jaws.

(End: Rebellion)

_**BAM!**_

**[BOOST!]**

With a little extra of crashing against one of the walls and nearly breaking said wall. Planning on effectively ending this fight, Ryu with his quick reflexes and speed, flipped himself back on his feet, and rushed to Dohnaseek to spear-tackling him further in the wall.

"Kuh… Cough! Cough! Hck!" During the time Ryu was giving Dohnaseek a personal beat-down, Kalawarner, while coughing and hacking up blood, removed herself from the wall she was embedded in and used her wings to lead her to where her spear was.

"_This high school kid definitely knows about my race not being able to get back the energy we used to our their spears if we're not physical touching them. Especially, when Dohnaseek and I super charged ours, so the energy is greatly needed right about now."_ She landed right in front of it and just when the spear was within her reach…

**[BOOST!]**

_**Fwwooosh!**_

Her eyes widened at the feeling of something passing her by. She quickly looks to see what it was and the "something" is actually Dohnaseek being thrown past her and right into another wall.

_**Crash!**_

"Oh no…" Quickly looking back to the direction her comrade was thrown from, she met face-to-face with the man with shiny, brown eyes of vengeance, standing right in front of her.

**[BOOST!]**

Before even being able to react, a foot already made contact with her stomach that is now turned to mush. Then, another to her cheek, fracturing her entire cheekbone and jaw. Soon after that last kick made contact, a flurry of near invisible kicks rained down continuously on Kalawarner's body, each one making a burst of green colored magic appear behind her back from the intensity of his kicks that were obviously charged with energy. Just when Ryu deals the last strike…

**[BOOST!]**

He Boosts one last time for good measure and strikes her chest, forcing her to a wall and smashing against it, right where the unconscious Dohnaseek is thanks to the force of that last attack.

**[Reset.]**

"Phew…" A sigh of sweet relief escaped Ryu's lips at both the fight being over and his body and magic decreasing to normal levels.

* * *

_**Earlier, ORC Club: Rias and her Peerage**_

Kiba wondered out loud on the threat that Rias warns them about, "What type of threat, Buchou?" Her expression turns more serious, if possible, "Stray Exorcists. Their number near 50." Shirone's eyes widened at the sheer number. "Near 50? That number itself is too much for just some operation." Akeno nods at the stated fact. "Which is exactly what makes the reports more unnerving and the reason why we're going to take care of them. Sona and her own Peerage are already handling a mass of Stray Devils, meaning…" Rias finished Akeno's sentence, "Meaning we must take this situation ourselves."

Akeno immediately prepares the magic circle. "Are we all ready? This won't exactly be a walk in the park considering they have light aligned weaponry." Kiba prepares a special sword using his Sacred Gear's ability for the occasion and have it at the ready. Akeno uses her magic to equip her priestess garb. Shirone, however, decided to leave out her Senjutsu abilities.

"_They shouldn't know… They don't need to know…"_

And fueling herself with those thoughts, Shirone and Kiba step inside the magic circle.

* * *

_**Abandoned Church - Entrance: Rias and her Peerage**_

Rias and her servants appeared just behind some trees to prevent being physically spotted at the very least. "Buchou, are there truly around 50 Stray Exorcists?" Shirone puts an end to Kiba's doubt by answering that question, "There's 46." Kiba looked quite mortified at the numbers. He was pretty confident they could win, sure, it's just that the numbers are extraordinary!

"Just as Shirone said, there are 46 in there. One in particular feels stronger than the rest." Rias knew that Shirone was the best at sensing presences and that was another reason she was grateful to have the white Nekomata.

"Hmm… That is probably Freed Sellzen. He does not feel to be weakened though. Perhaps they somehow healed him to full capacity?" Rias looked quite concerned at Akeno's true statement. This presence felt quite similar to Freed when they saw him get a throw-down from Ryu. The injuries and punishment he received should not have been healed in a mere few days.

Not to mention that the exorcist managed to injure Ryu a bit, despite the injuries being shallow, those shallow injuries are pretty painful in the Devils' case.

To be fair, Freed got off easy because of Ryu's concern to the environment and the people that neighbored the house plus the high schooler didn't use his Boosted Gear. Or his swords.

But everyone in the Peerage except Shirone didn't know that he wielded the two of the most potentially powerful swords, now did they?

Akeno adopts a confused expression, "Why is it that I don't feel the Fallen Angels though…?"

Shirone, meanwhile, was mentally panicking after that question was asked. _"This is Ryu's magic! He's using it to cover any leakage in residue! Oh no… Then he's fighting those Fallen Angels… On his own!?" _She grimanced on the inside. She couldn't tell the people inside the barrier, just the barrier itself. There had to be a reason for this. She'll keep quiet about it if Ryu placed the spell such as this. It felt reinforced too. Rivaling Rank 3. This means he used the Boosted Gear.

"I'm not sure, Akeno, but I am taking this as an excellent opportunity. We will not have to face them with the exorcists." Rias expression becomes further serious, "We'll need to plan traps and sneak attacks. Akeno, you and I will set up these traps in the north and south side. Kiba and Shirone will take out as many of them as possible while we set them up and place the bodies where the traps are to lure them in if possible. When the time is right, Kiba and Shirone will sneak inside and take out as many as possible after taking out the ones outside. As you can tell, there are even exorcists out here." The red head's Peerage nod at this plan and split up.

* * *

_**Abandoned Church – East Side Outskirts: Kiba**_

Kiba leapt from branch to branch, scouting the territory and ways to use it to his advantage. _"Hmm… This is good. Dusk is already here. My abilities should be stronger and with the shadows, striking them down will be easier." _He stops in his tracks when settling in a spot where it was perfect. Secretly, he created a dagger that had properties similar to his sword, "Light Eater."

With caution and stealth, he begins approaching the exorcists. Swiftly, he slits one of their throats and with grace, he spins a complete 180 degrees to stab the exorcist in the throat right next to the one he just killed. Grabbing the now dead bodies, Kiba used his incredible to head back in the woods that surround the building to hide the bodies.

"_The environment and timing are simply impeccable for me. I simply need to keep this up before and during the traps are set."_

Kiba spotted a trio of exorcists talking amongst each other and all three are leaning against trees. Perfect opportunity. Silently dashing to their location, the Knight brandishes his dagger before approaching one of them and executing one by another throat slit. The second was being impaled by a long sword that he created for the purpose of piercing his body through the tree. The third had his neck broken. After hiding the bodies in some bushes he continues his hunt.

"_While I don't like to perform assassinations, going by the code of honor will no doubt get me killed and Buchou will not be happy for that."_

* * *

_**Abandoned Church – South Side Outskirts: Akeno**_

"_Hmm… What should I place for our lovely audience~? Fufufu… At least someone got a little sneak peek~"_

Akeno's currently setting up traps for a section around the church. Most are thunder based traps. Still, didn't mean she couldn't get creative with said thunder. Take this unfortunate exorcist that was taking a little bathroom break behind some bushes that set it off as an example. Over there by some bushes.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

"_Ahh crap… Can't hold it…! Why can't they have a bathroom here!?" A lone exorcist jumps about in an attempt to hold his bladder. The effort proved to be fruitless as his bladder felt like it was going to explode still. "Dammit!" With his curse voiced out, he rushes with an extra spring in his step to the woods to relieve the ragin bladder in his body._

"_Huh?" Akeno hears footsteps and turns to see some exorcist in the bushes, urinating. Akeno noticed his blissful moment, so deciding she wanted to rain on this guy's parade and killjoy his happiness…_

_**Snap!**_

_**SHINK!**_

_**Drip… Drip…**_

_Condensed in the form of javelins rise from the ground below that unfortunate exorcist that pierced him through multiple areas upon Akeno snapping her fingers. Her lust-filled expression returns manifold at hearing him gurgle in his own blood and was peeing blood out._

"_Ara ara, I think I killed his joy and his life, fufufu~"_

_**Flashback End**_

* * *

It was quite morbid in all honesty while Akeno was having opposite thoughts to that though. She had a major blush as she kept setting up more traps and hoping such… "Pleasurable" memories like that occur again. Truly, she was the "Ultimate Sadist" as Rias stated.

"_Mmm~ I wonder what kind of relationship Ryu and I would be in? Maybe he'll be the S and I'll be the M? Teehee, those eyes of eyes really turned me on and the grace with the mixture of brutality is just… Amazing~" _As she thought of Ryu, one hand was already placed where her heart is to try and calm it down and the other was… Right in between her legs. Indeed, she was "turned on" just as she mentally spoke it out during the fight with Viser.

_"A knight with such innocence yet he had the animosity that still had the "art of battle" beauty to it. Ahhn~ It's making me want him more~"_ She was silently "suppressing" herself when watching the fight while no one noticed and she's most definitely doing that same thing now.

But she would have done it anyways if anyone saw her at that moment. Including now. Even if it were enemies.

She would have probably done it with much more effort too if it happened.

* * *

_**Abandoned Church – North Side Outskirts: Rias**_

Rias lightly and quietly sneezed. Rubbing her nose, she thinks, _"Someone must be talking about me."_

Our lovable Gremory heiress is setting up magic traps herself as she planned out. Her idea was to lure out the exorcists stationed outside and maybe some of the ones stationed inside in the traps. She was quite confident Shirone and Kiba could do the assassinations with success but it won't be long until they notice the decrease in numbers.

That's when they'll come out to search for their fallen comrades out here and set the traps off.

Truly, Rias indeed earned her place as King with her wits and potential.

Well… Not exactly earn, more like her Pieces were handed to her by her brother. Not like she complained or anything from that.

Nonetheless, she has proven herself capable. That's all that mattered.

Rias' mind began to drift to the enigma that was Ryu Mamoru. There were so many things she did not know of him. The Boosted Gear; how far of a control has he maintained on one of the legendary Longinus Sacred Gear for a human who has no special history or lineage? The amount of skill and control he had over his body and magic alone rivaled High Class or Rank 3 as he put it.

She wondered on even the smallest details too; the reason he can't speak, the reason his parents do not show up in files or secret government files for that matter or even saying his parents were abandoned or killed, his involvement between Kuroka and Shirone, and the incident two years ago between the holy and demonic energy. She felt that things didn't add up yet the necessary puzzle pieces were already there for her to place together, she just needed to figure out what goes where.

"_Things are really confusing… The facts and pieces of evidence are there in front of my face, I just can't seem to put them together properly…" _Rias begins on something entirely and her eyes widened at a terrifying fact. _"Ryu, at one point, said it has been two years since his involvement with the supernatural and getting his powers. Did-… Did he really become that strong in just two years…? Does the theory on human adaptation and evolution really exist? Perhaps it is the reason God gave humans the Sacred Gears."_

Rias did not suffer a headache or pain from thinking of God as He was not spoken in vain. Ignoring that, she kept thinking; The rate he grew was unnatural by even supernatural standards. Even for someone from the household in one of the 72 Pillars, it takes up to even near adulthood until they reach High Class/Rank 3 level. Yet, he reached Middle Class/Rank 2 in just _two years_ and he said he didn't train all the time, so she wondered how long it really took to reach that power.

It was a terrifying thought. Ryu was definitely not one to be trifled with. Added with the Boosted Gear in his arsenal, he could truly make that statement of being able to take down Gods and other beings true as the description of the Thirteen Longinus say. She was naturally sad from not being able to recruit him, of course, then again…

"_He's a lot better being an ally than a Peerage member. Being reincarnated will probably ruin his evolution and adaptation skills." _Still, even if she didn't have him as a Peerage member or ally, she was ecstatic of having someone like him. If it weren't for a _certain someone, _she would definitely try to spend more time with the third year male.

Done. Her traps are set. All that remains is for the plan to go in motion.

* * *

_**Abandoned Church – Rooftop: Shirone**_

Shirone lands on the rooftops and dispatches the group of five exorcists that were sharing the roof by disabling their bodies through suffocation, neck breaking, or severing their brain through pressure points and nerves. Now, there was no worry for them to be seen by someone who had a bird's eye view. She silently crawls to the edge of the rooftop in order to get a good view of below.

Rias and Akeno seem to be finished in their trap set up.

Kiba have already killed near 10 of them.

She already killed two more before finishing the five on this rooftop off. That totaled in an approximate fourth of their forces already being eradicated. Her hidden ears pick up sound from the inside of the building.

"SAY WHAT!? Where are the others then!?"

"I don't know! That's what I've been telling you!"

"Hmm… Alright then, spread out the remaining forces outside to look, take some men stationed inside here just to make sure."

"Yes, Father Freed!"

She heard grumbling from who she realized now was Freed, "It must be that kid… Fuck… I still get nightmares. The little shit didn't bring out his Sacred Gear or his swords to fight. Pfft… What a joke I was made… I'll get that piece of shit next time."

Shirone was pretty astonished Ryu didn't use his Sacred Gear or swords to take down the infamous Freed. She also considered him lucky she was the one to hear this and not someone else when the stray mentioned the swords.

"_**AAAAHHHH!"**_

"_**OH GOD IT HURTS!"**_

"_**STOP THE BLEEDING!"**_

"_**THE PAIN IS TOO MUCH!"**_

"_Must be the traps activating. More than half of their forces are taken care of. Good." _Shirone mused. She crawled away from the edge and stood up.

"Hey! Do you guys see anything from up there!?" The first year Nekomata figured someone was going to ask about the exorcists that used to be stationed up here. Rolling her shoulders and stretching her legs a bit, she jumps from the roof, landing on top of the exorcist, smashing his face in the process. She looks from side to side in alert and awareness once she heard footsteps. Seeing it was her fellow comrades walking to her, Shirone relaxes.

Rias smiled at Shirone, "Good thinking on taking care of the ones of any threat on the roof. I didn't consider the chances of someone playing lookout." Shirone nods solemnly at her master. Kiba steps up, eyes clearly show seriousness, "Buchou, we should act now. They definitely heard the commotion from out here." Rias nods. "Front door entrance is definitely out of the question." Akeno gets one heck of an idea, "Why can we not use the front door?" Everyone looked at the thunder priestess.

They saw the all too familiar sweet smile that graced Akeno's expression. _**Too sweet **_of a smile.

Rias smirked at Akeno. "Such boldness, Akeno. Very well, we will… "Use" the front door. From here on out, it will be a fight head-on." The red haired president stands in front of the doors and extends a hand out.

The magic circle with the emblem that symbolizes the Gremory household appears before that very same hand. This entire time, Rias had that cheeky smirk present.

"Knock knock, we're coming in!"

_**KA-BOOOOOOM!**_

The door literally _exploded_ to small bits of splinters and broken wood. The exorcists took their positions as the dust from the explosion settled and what they saw disgusted them.

Freed was obviously the one who voiced this disgust.

"You're those shitty Devils from before! You fuckers are the ones that killed more than half of my men!"

Rias' smirk did not falter, even for a bit, and retorted with a better form of greeting.

"Good evening, fallen exorcists." Her teal colored eyes become half-lidded to look more malevolent and her smirk turning deadlier.

_**FLAP!**_

Bat-like Devil wings sprout from her back. Her Peerage members followed suit in releasing their Devil selves.

"Turn to dust, please."

* * *

_**During that time, Abandoned Church - Hidden Levels: Ryu and Asia**_

**[Congratulations, partner. You managed to defeat two Fallen Angels using mostly your fists and feet and minor damages to the environment. Still… It was a dangerous thing to have kept using the Boosted Gear. You were near the Third Stage and even if you cannot feel the pain from the overload, it is still not healthy and your wounds from this fight are now worse because of this.]**

"Sigh…"

Ryu sighs again in response. He needed to ensure absolute victory, even if all those Boosts were unnecessary. Ryu heads towards his swords to pick them up and sheathe them. Un-summoning his gauntlet, he turns to where Asia is tied at. Calmly walking towards her, he removes the tape that restricted her ability to speak.

"Ryu, you did it!" Asia is obviously full of joy from seeing Ryu come out on top in this fight. Ryu smiles at her renewed energy and prepares to break the chains apart that imprisoned the blonde nun to the contraption. She hears a sound of someone stepping on wooden floors, however…

_**Creeeaaaak…**_

Asia's expression turned horrified when following where that same sound came from. "RYU, WATCH OUT!"

_**[PARTNER!]**_

Ryu's eyes were shot wide open.

Sudden movements were made.

The sound of something traveling at high speed through the air resounded softly throughout the immediate area.

Blood was shed and graced the floor with its illuminating, red color like an artist's painting.

The sound of a body hitting the ground made itself heard for those present in the now dead silent room.

_**To Be Continued...**_

* * *

**Ending: Rolling Star by Yui**

**(Yume ni made mita you na sekai de arasoi no naku heiwa ni kurashitai) **Camera shows the streets and buildings of Kuoh City that had fast moving shadows of bestial and demonic looking creatures. Suddenly, a human shaped shadow carrying what seemed to be two swords, lunging at the other shadows and the camera panned to show it was actually Ryu jumping up high in the air and then slashed the screen with his swords.

**(****Mou gaman bakka shiterannai yo ****iitai koto wa iwanakucha****) **The screen split into three from the slashes and now shows Ryu jumping across rooftops with Asia on his back and Kuroka and Shirone following behind him, all of them smiling in joy.

**(****Kaerimichi yuugure no basutei ****ochikonda senaka ni Bye Bye Bye!**)The scenery switches to show Rias and Sona playing a game of chess against each other in the ORC Clubroom and their Peerages doing other miscellaneous things or watching their Kings play.

**(****Kimi no Fighting Pose misenai Oh! ****Oh!****)** The scene swapped again to show Ryu standing in the middle of the streets at nighttime, now in his serious personality. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he leapt towards the screen and punches it. This caused it to shatter to small shards of glass.

**(****Yume ni made mita you na sekai wa ****arasoi mo naku heiwa na nichi jyou!****) **Now it demonstrates Ryu blocking a punch from Dohnaseek and counters with a punch of his own to the face, knocking him away. Next, he ducks to avoid a kick from behind by Kalawarner and counters with an uppercut that sent her flying. Lastly, he launches a beam of bronze colored energy at Mittlet that destroyed the incoming light spears in the process.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa hibi to rabu te ****tama ni kuyandari shiteru) **Swiftly turning around, Ryu charges towards Raynare, his gauntlet at the ready and jumps in the air to reach her with an open hand and she responds to throwing a light spear at him.

**(Sonna ROLLING DAYS!) **The entire screen went white right after.

**(Short Instrumental) **_A short series of flashbacks of all the times he fought against his foes that included Stray Devils, Freed, and the Fallen Angels play in his mind._

**(****Kitto uso nante sou imi wo motanai no) **Ryu falls to the floor, the bangs of his hair covers his eyes, and blood littered his torn up clothes and body.

**(All my loving… ****Sou janakya yatterannai!) **Two hands are offered in front of him and looks up to see Rias, Kiba, Akeno, and Asia and the hands belonging to Kuroka and Shirone.

**(Yume ni made mita you na Sweet Love ****koibitotachi wa kakurega wo sagasu no) **Ryu gladly took the assistance and stood back up on his feet.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa aenai hi ga****tsuzukinagara mo shinjiteru no Lonely days****) **Slowly raising his hand up, Ryu summons his Boosted Gear once more. The gem shines brightly and gives the white background made by the shining moon a more vibrant and beautiful color.

**(Tsumazuitatte Way to go! ****Yeah! Yeah!) **The group behind Ryu smiles at seeing him stand up and as he raised his armored hand up in the air.

**(Dorodarake ROLLING STAR!) **The screen soon becomes engulfed in a sea of green light by the gauntlet.

**End ending song**

* * *

**Shorter than normal chapters I have made **_**and **_**a cliffhanger, I know. I'm one of those guys obviously. Heh. Updated a teeny bit earlier than I originally anticipated. Reason is because I am going somewhere soon and I might not be able to continue the story for about 4 days and I didn't want to take chances. I'd like to mention the obvious thing that I made changes and improvements to my previous chapters. Even if I am trying to finish this volume quickly, it does not mean I should make it crappy. I did say I'd finish this volume as quickly yet as effective as possible after all. I'll just end it here with a note that each and every one of you are awesome and I will still have the next chapter at the ready, no matter what.**


	10. Intervention - Part II

**Once more, because I don't want to ruin the intensity and suspense I have built up, I'm simply going to move to the reviews:**

**Blazedragon94: Hah! I was wondering when someone would have pieced it together! Yes, "Ryu Mamoru" translates to "Dragon Protector." You were on the spot there.**

**Tmax99: Thank you once again!**

**the renegade soldier: Them cliffs, eh? And thank you for the compliment on my updating pace. I still find it amusing that spamming 5k long chapters in a day or two is considered "decent." I like that; it's you being honest and funny all at the same time. Understandably, I get that you mean how there are so many stories that take a while to update and I just happen to be those people who update reasonably long chapters at a rate like it's no one's business. Anyways, the decision of whether they live or die is right here on this chapter, sooo…. Enjoy.**

**Piemaster981: Hey, the cliffhanger was doing its job by making you anxious for the next part that is right here.**

**AidosX: I'm not sure if a weekly update is fast, but here you go.**

**(First and Second) Guest: Pfft! Ryu? A Devil? You two are funny. I already said it before and I'll gladly say it again: This is about showing the supernatural about human potential and the reason why God (at least in my story) gave humanity Sacred Gears. The summary where it said "****will prove them wrong by rising up through the ranks of power to crush his obstacles and show them the power of human potential" isn't just for show. So be rest assured, you two.**

**On a side note that concerns about lemons: They are happening, so that already explains the M Rating all on its own. I just like to make relationships take a legitimate pacing. I don't need nor want to rush them because I treat these things with a level of realism to make the love interests more intimate and heartwarming in the eyes of you all as the readers-slash-viewers. And **_**IF **_**Rias and Akeno would be with Ryu (not revealing spoilers whether Ryu has the path of harem-hood open or not), then it would take a while. Who in their right mind would just date the two girls that invaded your personal files and your own life without a care!? Definitely not Ryu and Ddraig would have a few words to say about it because of the lack of trust he has towards the two girls. Plus, they barely know each other yet the two are already invading his privacy. Case closed.**

**I still don't own Highschool DxD!**

"I refuse to give up!" – Speech  
_"I can't keep up…" – Thoughts/Flashbacks speech__  
_**[Hang in there!]/[BOOST!] – Ddraig speech****  
****_[Through the thick and thin, partner.] – Ddraig thoughts/Flashback speech_**

* * *

**Opening: Sympathy by Larval Stage Planning**

**(Tomo ni mou ichido tachiagare ****mamore hitotsu no inochi…) **The camera shows Ryu landing on the ground and narrowing his eyes at the Peerage of Riser as they prepare themselves for combat. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he charges at them and the green gem begins to glow.

**(****Tayasanu yo niiii!) **The glow stopped and the upcoming clash is replaced with the picture of the Boosted Gear itself across the screen horizontally and the title appears in the middle.

**_"古伝の竜守る Vol 0: 不羈 (Legend of the Dragon Protector, Vol 0: Freedom)"_**

Then the gauntlet and title turn to shiny green particles.

**(****Futatabi otozureta yoake ni me ga samete kimi wo omoi dasu yume no tochuu) **The particles vanished to show the ORC Club and scrolls from left to right to show Rias to Kiba, Akeno, Asia, and finally to Shirone and Kuroka. All of them smiling towards the camera.

**(Me no mae no zanzo susumanai ashidori ****toozakatte yuku hiriki na boku) **Once more, the scenery switched to the Student Council Room and scrolled from right to left this time to show Sona, Tsubaki, Saji, Momo, Reya, Tsubasa, Rukuro, and Tomoe, all smiling at the camera as well.

**(Taisetsu na mono wa doko ni aru? ****Ashita wo shinjiru nara wasurenaide!) **The screen returned back to Ryu charging towards Riser's Peerage and the camera panned to the females and zooms past them and closes in on Riser's smirking face.

**(Ima koso saa inochi wo kakete susumi dasu toki****omoi ga tsuyoi hodo tsuyokunaru!)** Ryu dodges, parries, and counters the attacks of the servants in the Phenex's Peerage and heads straight for Riser after dealing with the females.

**(Hengen suru tsugihagi darake no risou dewa****sugu ni kiete shimau kara!) **Riser flies up in the air with his fire wings and Ryu follows suit with his energy being released through the sole of his feet and shoes and clash high in the sky with fist against fist, kicks against kick, and yellowish colored fires against copper colored lasers.

**(Towa e tsuzuku kawasu chikai****furue dashita karada no soko kara!) **Ryu slowly held up his Sacred Gear and the jewel shines once more with a light so intense that made Riser cover his eyes from its intensity. Red flames spread around Ryu's entire body and an armored silhouette slowly makes it appearance within the flames with emerald green eyes piercing through the red fire.

**End opening song**

* * *

_**Last time…**_

_"Ryu, you did it!" Asia is obviously full of joy from seeing Ryu come out on top in this fight. Ryu smiles at her renewed energy and prepares to break the chains apart that imprisoned the blonde nun to the contraption. She hears a sound of someone stepping on wooden floors, however…_

**_Creeeaaaak…_**

_Asia's expression turned horrified when following where that same sound came from. "RYU, WATCH OUT!"_

**_[PARTNER!]_**

_Ryu's eyes were shot wide open._

_Sudden movements were made._

_The sound of something traveling at high speed through the air resounded softly throughout the immediate area._

_Blood was shed and graced the floor with its illuminating, red color like an artist's painting._

_The sound of a body hitting the ground made itself heard for those present in the now dead silent room._

_**Resuming with the story…**_

* * *

_**Abandoned Church – Hidden Levels: Ryu and Asia**_

_**Drip drip drip…**_

_**Thud!**_

Asia stares horrifically at the fallen body of Ryu that was pierced in four areas by light spears.

Two in each shoulder.

One in the right lung…

And…

One where his heart was.

"_**RYUUUUUUUUU!"**_

Raynare and Mittlet fully come out of a secret compartment recently made under a set of benches.

"W-we did it…"

"Y-yeah…"

Raynare and Mittlet shake off the feeling of adrenaline before the two gasp at their Fallen comrades that were stuck to a wall.

"Mittlet, move the body away quickly while I begin to extract the Sacred Gear! We need it if we're going to have them back in full strength fast!" Mittlet nods and floats over to Ryu's body. Her face twists into fear and quickly throws him to the wall that is right next to the entrance. He limply lands back to the ground in a sitting position after leaving an imprint of himself in the wall due to the force of the throw.

Raynare approaches Asia and begins using her magic to activate the extractor with a not-so-nice smile. "Your power will be a great assistance to our faction and give me praise from Azazel-sama and Shemhazai-sama. So thank you, Asia Argento." The machinery lights up in activation and Raynare plunges her hand deep inside Asia's chest. Asia squirms and screams in pain at sensation of having her Sacred Gear being removed from her very core.

* * *

_**Earlier, Abandoned Church: Rias and her Peerage**_

_**KA-BOOOOOM!**_

A deafening explosion filled the immediate area. Rias and Akeno are currently _decimating _most ofthe henchmen Stray Exorcists using their magic. Kiba and Shirone were handling a handful themselves with the addition of an annoying and insane Freed Sellzen, nicknamed as the "Fallen Exorcist of Insanity." The battle was pretty much evened out if you disregard the near unimportant fact that Rias and her Peerage are outnumbered.

The numbers are dwindling anyways.

"Hahahahahah! Dance, you shitty Devils!"

Freed's definitely earned that title… He is currently shooting at Kiba. The mentioned Knight is bobbing and weaving from the crazed platinum blonde's light gun. Easily, if he may say so himself. He would use his "Light Eater," but…

"_Where's the fun in that?"_

That answers it.

"Stop moving, you cockroach piece of shit of a fucking Devil! I'm _actually _getting tired of trying to fucking shoot you!" Freed just kept going faster and faster in his "Trigger Happy" self. Kiba kept dodging, the easiness difficulty of the avoiding the shots went away, yet Kiba remained composed and calm. Naturally, he _needs_ to be calm. Those bullets would hurt if they made contact. A lot.

Still, the blonde Knight stopped right when he was next to Freed's side and swung with a normal, demonic sword with no special properties that he created.

_**CLANG!**_

The sound of Kiba's demonic sword and Freed's tainted light sword clashing against each other reverberated across the entire room.

Shirone watches the clash unfold while bashing the heads of two henchmen against each other to death. "Senpai, what are you doing?"

"Um… Adding challenge to myself!"

"Why?"

"Because Ryu-senpai could beat this guy without using anything! So, I'm trying to stick with just an average, demonic blade!"

Freed is obviously not happy upon hearing this (factual) statement and roars to the heavens. Kiba braces himself and steps in the defensive, now back to dodging slashes and parrying them.

"YOU PIECE OF SHIT! YOU FUCKING PIECES OF SHIT!"

Kiba's eyes narrow at seeing an opening thanks to Freed's recklessness and slashes his abdomen.

"AAAARGH!" Freed ignores the wound and uses his other hand to take out his gun. Kiba's breath hitched and swiftly creates one particular sword for this bat-shit insane man to even the odds.

"**SWORD BIRTH!"**

And just in the nick of time, a black sword jutted out from the ground, just below Freed whom jumps back in shock. "What the fuck is that!?" His response is Kiba taking the sword, replacing the other one that vanished in black smoke. Having a confident (and somehow charming) smile, the Knight responds, "I make demonic swords." Freed tilts his head in confusion. "Haaah? You make toys?" Kiba stares at the man awkwardly before nodding with equal amounts of awkwardness and the two return to clashing their blades once more.

Freed's shocked face returned with half its force when it saw the sword of light's energy being slowly devoured by the opponent's blade. On instinct, he pulls back and fires a few shots. Kiba also blocked and absorbed them.

That's when the shocked look returns at full throttle.

The created blade began to glow and Kiba sliced the air and released a demonic slash wave. Freed dodges it regardless by jumping, he was just shocked still. The slash attack phased right through the wall behind him and created a large cut through the mentioned wall.

"Impressed? This is my sword, 'Light Eater.' It used to be 'Holy Eraser' when it only nullified tainted light like a Stray Exorcist's weapon since they have demonic energy in it. That was until observing Ryu-senpai in combat that I decided to upgrade it to 'Light Eater.' Now it can convert all the holy energy to demonic energy to power up my attacks. Be fortunate; you're the first to witness and battle against my latest creation."

Freed scowls at hearing and seeing that his one way of absolute victory wa-

"Why do you have something as cockblocking as this!?"

-…was cockblocked. Just as the insane man said right now.

After that complaint was notified, the two resume in their clash of swords.

Meanwhile, Rias and Akeno were having a _blast_ with the other exorcists.

_**BOOM!**_

See what "having a blast" meant?

"Fufu, isn't this fun, buchou?"

"You know, Akeno? I'm starting to agree with you."

"Ara ara, buchou beginning to enjoy this? I must be dreaming~"

Rias deadpans as she blasts an exorcist with her Power of Destruction, effectively eliminating the now deceased foe. "I meant getting the chance to use my magic, Akeno. Not the killing part." Akeno pouts while vaporizing another exorcist with lightning. "You're no fun…" Rias sighs at Akeno's attitude. "It's not supposed to be fun when they wield armaments that can disintegrate us if they strike us a good amount of times…" Akeno frowns at the bold and truthful claim. "It is always nice to rely on you to ruin the fun and happy moments, buchou…"

The red head smiles at the childish complaint from her black haired childhood friend as more exorcists are destroyed.

An imaginary light bulb appears floating on top of Akeno's head. "Say, buchou, what's your opinion on Ryu?" An imaginary exclamation point appears besides Rias' head once she registered the question. "There are two ways to answer that. I see him as an amazing and potentially powerful ally. With enough time given, he could truly rival gods and other powerful beings in the supernatural. He could perhaps achieve title as the 'Strongest Human' if he manages to beat the one who currently holds that title. All in all, someone I have no regret having on our side."

Akeno takes in a moment to sponge that all that inside. While what her friend and King said is quite true, that wasn't the answer she was expecting. Realizing Rias said there were two answers to that, she questions about the second method of response, "And the other one?"

Rias' expression contorted to that of when one is in conflict internally, "He's someone reliable, powerful, and protective. Someone who I'd like to get to know. As much as I'd like to be closer to him and see what kind of person he is, I can't." Rias' eyes now contain a gleam of pain, anger, and sadness.

In another area of the abandoned church is Shirone who is finishing off the last exorcist and having heard enough from the two third year girls, threw the recently dead exorcist right in between the two and startled them just as the Neko planned. "There's also a few reasons in why he has not been getting close to you as he is to me. Have you ever thought about it?" The two looked hurt at the gesture of throwing a corpse in their way and also from what the Rook just said to them.

Akeno, now beginning to think where they could have gone wrong, asked Shirone herself, "What are the reasons, Shirone?" Shirone's eyes narrow dangerously, getting shocked looks from the two main magic users. "In the beginning, you two were already looking in Ryu's records without any shame of doing so. Then, you, Rias, used the Fallen Angels to recruit Ryu when you could have drove them away long ago. We wouldn't even be having to fight them either! Now, you two continuously invade his personal space as if you own him." Each statement made, the closer Shirone got to the two and they both even backed away from the Killing Intent that was radiating off of her.

Wanting to have one last metaphorical punch to their dignity and self-worth, Shirone adds, "You, Akeno, could have stopped Rias from doing this. You could have even helped him in danger or I could have been told about the situation and I could have helped him if any of the two of you told me about this or let me go from doing contracts! He's far more important than some stupid contracts!"

This next one was the _real_ finisher…

"I wonder how he would react if he realized this was your territory, Rias..."

Rias' eyes widened in horror at the fact her fellow classmate and club member could possibly not know about this. At the fact the potential ally could be an enemy. Then, she began to mentally panic. Shirone was undeniably powerful, possibly equal to the Queen and King of this Peerage, Rias knew this. There was also something about her that made Rias feel like she was holding back, especially from the excessive leak in her power right now. If this was true, then she is definitely the strongest among the entire Peerage instead.

This was becoming a concern. A big concern

The fact was that she could be killed by both Ryu and Shirone was making her shake all the way down to her school shoes.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

**_[-…I would be spending my time finding ways to get out of this Sacred Gear without killing my one partner that has shown care to me and if I do find a way, I would personally go to the Underworld and finish off the little remains of your race.]_**

**_Flashback End_**

* * *

"_Forget me dying, my whole race would suffer! Even if __**somehow**__ the Red Dragon Emperor loses __**if **__he does come out, most or nearly every Devil will be dead by then!"_

Her brother would go after them, but what good would that do?

He has a weapon that can _kill _beings like her brother!

And he could use that weapon pretty freakin' well!

Rias starts grimacing at her mistakes that concerned Ryu. It wasn't just about her race could be eliminated if Ddraig _did _come out, she would also have traumatized the poor, brown haired male even further and she can already see the damage in his psyche that is there. Meaning she would been the one to have pushed him further to the edge and cause him to retaliate, all in the name of self-defense. She really liked Ryu as a friend and wishes to perhaps be more than that, but Ddraig is an issue all on its own; he doesn't like Akeno and herself, that much was plainly seen, and she noticed that Ryu follows what Ddraig says.

If they find out what she did, her chances could go down the drain and possibly be the reason he could be even more scarred than now. That last one made her feel the worst since it would carry on with her to Hell and she could do nothing to fix her future mistake.

Akeno, though, was looking down, quite saddened from the spoken truth that she did not stop Rias in her plan to recruit Ryu. Honestly, she was worried for the poor kid. He is already suffering from multiple personality disorder because of the death of his parents. One representing his child self that he never got to fully live out and his mature self that he needed to grow into naturally as he grew older, both were surely making him emotionally conflicted. Even if he didn't notice.

Yes, she knows they're dead.

How?

Because one could not develop a multiple personality disorder as severe as Ryu's and the claim is only backed up further from the missing files on his parents with the lack of any family relatives.

"_Could it have been a memory wipe spell?"_

It sounds plausible. The added piece of evidence is how he's not directly affected from the spell is another reason; he wouldn't remember his parents if that were the case. The possible killer(s) or kidnapper(s) probably thought he was just some kid that didn't matter. Perhaps Rias, Sona, and Tsubaki were thinking the same thing at some point.

"_There are so many holes in his past and these events that have been happening during these few years recently that just don't add up."_

She really cared for him. Honestly, she did. On one hand, it can be considered a guilty pleasure; she was really attracted to his innocent and battle ready dual personas that were created from his suffering. Exactly as it was stated: Guilty pleasure.

On the other hand of why she did take an interest in him, he understood a situation quickly and acted accordingly like saving her from the Stray Devils instead of trying to fight them back which would have been foolish to do since she'd still be struck. He even knew that he shouldn't judge a race from just meeting a few like the Fallen Angels.

It wasn't just about his combat prowess, his adorable and sexual appeal, or his dual personality.

It was also from her seeing someone who has lived a horrible life and succumbed to it.

BUT! He at least stood back up, only getting stronger. Learnt from the harsh side of life and refuses to let others suffer it. The spirit of an unbreakable will that was reformed from its own broken pieces and it was clear in the Boosted Gear wielder's eyes.

_That _was the main reason she would like to be with someone like him. Perhaps Rias shared the similar train of thought.

Akeno shakes her head from the thoughts. She needed to focus on the mission. Turning to Rias, Akeno immediately frowns at the panicked look on her King's face, instantly knowing what the red head was thinking. Lightly nudging her arm, Rias snaps out of it and looks at a frowning Akeno. "Rias, you're looking things from a negative perspective. He could forgive us if we explain things to him and that we won't do something as reckless as that again."

Rias stared at the floor after hearing her friend's word of wisdom. Shirone visibly relaxed and turns to see the outcome of the fight between Kiba and Freed unfold.

_**CLASH!**_

Kiba and Freed's eyes and blades lock in a deadly struggle of who has the bigger Killing Intent in their eyes and their own swords.

"Why don't you just die, you piece of shit Devil?"

"Gomenasai (I apologize), but I cannot do that. Perhaps you can do that yourself?" Kiba's smile returns to grace his lips. This time, it was not that "Prince Charming" smile. Not when his eyes and entire body leaked the intent to kill.

Freed's scowls only worsens and the two break apart.

That was when he notices something.

He could not win.

He took a look around the room and saw the corpses of his fallen soldiers. Every last one of them killed.

Clicking his tongue in anger from a second defeat of not just a mere human but Devils this time, he takes out a tiny, pebble-sized sphere. At least his insane personality returned at the thought of obtaining revenge in the future

"Ta-ta, Devils~!"

_**FLASH!**_

The Peerage required to protect their eyes from the harmful light of the flash-bang by covering them. Once they uncovered them, the insane exorcist was gone.

"Sigh… I suppose it could have gotten worse." And on that sigh, Rias crosses her arms under her ample chest. Akeno's eyes narrow when she sensed something… Wrong, to put it simply.

_**KRRR…**_

The similar noise of glass beginning to fall apart. This sound did unnoticed by Shirone either.

"Buchou, there's-"

_**CRASH!**_

The sound of shattering glass filled the ears of the Peerage, putting all of them in alert.

It was not actual glass though…

"A… Barrier…?" Indeed, it was the barrier spell that was placed in the hidden levels of the abandoned church.

Shirone, immediately sensing Ryu's life force, goes with the bold approach and breaks the floor with her foot immediately to reveal the hidden passage. Turning around to face the three, she points at the broken floor. "Down here!"

* * *

_**During that time, Abandoned Church – Hidden Levels: Ryu and Asia**_

"RYYYUUUU!"

Mittlet cringes at the cry for help and turns back to make sure Ryu doesn't stand up. Fortunately for them, he was still sitting down and bleeding, though the bleeding part is going _very _slowly.

That already warranted a nervous glint in her already worried eyes.

Speaking of eyes, his… His eyes were gazing right at hers with such intensity as if the damage wasn't bothering him at all. Shivers went up and down her body from simply giving a split second glance at those frightening eyes that contained the menacing glint.

Asia lets out one last gasp of pain once her Sacred Gear is finally taken out of her core. Raynare laughs whole-heartedly as the dual rings of Twilight Healing now occupy her ring fingers. "We've done it! Twilight Healing is now ours! Quick, get the two out of the wall and I'll begin to heal the two!" Mittlet snaps out of her fear-induced state and nods. The two run towards their unconscious co-workers.

Ddraig from the inside of the Boosted Gear, looks down in horror and sadness.

_**[I'm so sorry, partner… Once again, I couldn't give you the power you needed… All because of my fear that the power would swallow you…]**_

Asia, after being left alone, pants and heaves from the God-made artifact taken out of her; the toll of death in having it removed beginning to already take effect. Still, with impressive willpower, she manages to look up at Ryu, and had the sheer, raw power to _smile apologetically_.

"I'm sorry… For dragging you into this… Ryu…" Ryu's eyes remain in their shrunken state while craning his neck to look at Asia who both now had tears threatening to spill. "Please don't cry for me, Ryu…. It was my fault for having you be in this situation…. I really didn't want you to share this fate with me… But…" Pausing for both a breather and in thought, Asia looks down at the floor. After having taken the breather, she raises her head back up again and gives him that sweet and kind smile with her eyes closed, spilling tears from both sadness and pain. "At least you'll go to Heaven. I'm sure of it." After those words were said, her body and mind go numb, the embrace of unconsciousness taking Asia in. Though, she is currently alive albeit unconscious now, she was still dying.

Ryu's eyes widened at hearing Asia's final words. Even in her dying breath, she still apologized for something she didn't do and even then, she smiled at him. The bangs of his hair cover his crying eyes, his entire body trembling.

'_No… I will not allow this… I cannot feel pain… So why am I here on the ground…?'_

(Cue: Never Back Down)

Ddraig gasps in surprise from "hearing" Ryu.

_**[Partner?]**_

"Ugh…" Dohnaseek gets up and stretches, feeling fully healed. "That was an intense battle. Definitely something I've been yearning for a while." He grins in satisfaction. Kalawarner stood up next, pained expression present at feeling the phantom pain. "Whatever, it's over anyways."

'_I… Will not let them take her from me…'_

Ryu grasps the two dragon slaying swords that lay next to his sides. Draconic inscriptions begin to spread across the blade of each of the weapons, flooding his internal magic system with demonic and holy energy.

'_I… Will show them… To not take things from me…'_

His grip tightens around the hilts, making the symbols glow brighter.

'_Ddraig…'_

_**[What is it that you need, partner?] **_All worry and hesitance in Ddraig's voice immediately vanished when "hearing" and feeling Ryu's resolve.

'_Lend me… All the power you can give…'_

_**[No need to ask me, partner. I will fight with you even past the ends of this world!]**_

_**SHIIIINE!**_

An intense glow begins to emanate from the Boosted Gear's jewels and its own draconic inscriptions glow intensely.

'_I will…. Make sure to… Not disappoint you…'_

_**[Do not speak of such nonsense, partner! To this very day, not once had you disappointed me! While I cannot stand by you in your times of need, I will lend you as much help as I can.]**_

'_No… You have been... Always with me… Next to my heart… My very core…'_

The colors of green, white, and black begin to surround his brown colored glowing being as he began to stand up, body and mind not even registering the fact that it was now dying from the lack its own heart.

_'We... Fight side by side...'_

The entire team of Fallen Angels turn around towards the sensation of multiple energies flooding the entire room that still had the barrier active.

"**WHAT!?"**

"**HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE!?"**

"**HE SHOULD BE DEAD!"**

"**HAHAHAHAHA! NOW THE **_**REAL**_** FIGHT BEGINS!"**

Inside the Boosted Gear, Ddraig's scaled mouth twitched upwards.

_**[Then together! Together we fight! From now on: We will fight side by side! We fight as equals!]**_

Ryu's eyes show themselves once more, now his eyes gleam from the tears he has shed. Regardless of the now tear-stained face, his expression showed his iconic, unbreakable determination.

'_We'll show them we are an unstoppable team!'_

**[BOOSTED GEAR: SECOND LIBERATION!]**

_**DOOOOOONNNN!**_

The entire hidden level inside the church became coated in blinding lights of white and green with the pitch black darkness also consuming the room. The group covered their eyes and grit their teeth upon feeling their skin being burnt and charred in multiple locations.

_**FWOOOOM!**_

(End: Never Back Down)

(Cue: Tables Turned)

They slowly uncover their eyes and gasp in dread upon seeing Ryu standing there with two holes that nearly go through his entire torso and two on each of his shoulders that did go through and yet his expression shows he's not even feeling those holes and _feeling _the energy that was surrounding him as well as seeing it.

Green, white, and black energy dance around him in the form of flames. They are not actual flames, but they damn well came close to looking like it. The factor that placed even more fear for the women of the group was the swords and the Boosted Gear.

Gram's blade was now cloaked in black lightning sparks with magma orange colored inscriptions on it that were foreign, even to them as the supernatural who can break the language barrier.

Ascalon was similar to its demonic counterpart, except it left a trail of white, beautiful particles instead with silver colored inscriptions that seemed to also be foreign to even their language barrier ability.

Finally, the Boosted Gear.

Never before have they seen something like this.

Gone was its previous form.

Now?

It had two, small, and yellow colored spikes that come out from where his wrist is and they slightly curved to the direction his hand is. Four smaller and also colored yellow spikes jut out from on top of the gauntlet and below it, another green jewel like the one on top of where the back of his hand is at that came out when the Boosted Gear extended itself further in length. It now even had four spikes instead of the main two that were on the gauntlet in its previous form, two on each side and they were also pressed together.

It's size?

It was three times the size of his own arm and the end of the gauntlet almost reaches his shoulder.

Is it bulky?

Yes.

Does it weigh him down?

No.

Does it strike fear in the three out of four Fallen Angels right now?

Oh yeah. It definitely is.

The other Fallen Angel?

He has that look where a child just burst open a piñata in one hit and took all the candy for himself.

**[Fallen Angels… We're going to teach you four to never more take from humans. You will learn first-hand that they can fight back. Prepare yourselves.]**

The three females take a step back in fear.

"H-his power… It-it's reached… H-high Cl-class!"

Raynare regains composure and assumes combat position. That combat position, however, was interrupted upon seeing one thing…

His wounds.

They were _**healing**_! Even if it was _**very slow**_, they were still healing!

"Who the Hell cares what level he is!? Come on, let's fight him!" Dohnaseek was ecstatic and prepares a spear of light. Kalawarner, also thinking they need to fight, prepares her own light spear. The two others soon follow this action. Being the battle-hungry of the four, Dohnaseek was the first to charge at him.

(End: Tables Turned)

(Cue: Bloodlust Slaughter)

Ryu responds at this by also charging at him just when the two were near to clash…

_**Swoosh!**_

Ryu disappears in a burst of speed right in front Dohnaseek's eyes which widened and no sooner than that…

_**GUSSSSSHHHH!**_

Gashes appear all over his body, blood flying everywhere from the wounds, and he immediately falls to the ground.

Ryu stood meters where he was at, his left arm that held Gram was extended out. Now, lowering his demonic sword, he stares at the remaining three, scaring them the very core with his piercing brown eyes.

_**[Partner! After analyzing the swords, Ascalon is currently healing your wounds. If you focus on the healing energy to recreate your heart, you have a high chance of survival!]**_

At hearing that, Ryu's eyes glint in an idea that popped up. The others began to charge at him next, spears already being thrown. Seeing this, he charges at them with no hesitation as usual and when the spears made contact.

_**KRRRSSHHH!**_

They were immediately turned to tiny, glasslike shards on contact with his skin.

Eyes widened in horror as he kept charging with no fear. Then, stretching out his arms and swords to one side, he spins and the blades extend out three to five feet further as he did so, creating a spinning whirlwind of absolute destruction. The females were too late to dodge and all suffered _deep_ gashes to their stomachs and arms before being blown away from the pressurized wind and power.

Ceasing the spin attack and the returning his swords to original length, he stares at the dying form of Asia.

_**[Partner…?] **_Ddraig's eyes then widened at figuring out what Ryu was about to do as soon as he raises his right hand that held Ascalon. He chose to not say anything. He knew his partner would do something like this if he could find a way to save a life.

While Ddraig was deep in his thoughts, Ryu grimanced at the morbid act he was about to do and hoped Asia would forgive him for it.

_**JAB!**_

He has just stabbed Ascalon in the middle of her chest, down inside of her own fading core, in an attempt to slow down her death.

No blood. No blade going through her body. It was all just as he planned.

And it was working magnificently.

Ryu smiles at his accomplishment. However, that smile was short-lived. He needed to find a way to get her Sacred Gear back. Fast

Judging by his now slightly blurry vision, he didn't have much time. Even if he can't feel pain, it meant nothing without a heart for the body to work on. The lung, he could go without for quite a while. The heart though…

Ryu reckons he has only 2 and a half minutes left max. Not much time.

With Gram and the Boosted Gear, he charges at Kalawarner first. Not giving her any time to recover from the last attack, he proceeds to uppercut her with the Longinus-class Sacred Gear and leaps high up in the air.

**[BOOST!]**

He launches a heavy downwards hit with Gram across her chest, damaging her greatly that also sent her down to the floor.

_**BOOM!**_

Not even going to bother stopping, he descends down with his newfound power giving an extra boost for him. Rearing his armored fist back, Ryu punches Kalawarner in the stomach that turned her ribs to powder and her intestines to mush once more.

_**BAM!**_

**[BOOST!]**

Ryu lands back on the destroyed floor and feels a light spear impact his damaged shoulder. The spear wasn't a worry since it didn't do anything at all, it was the thrower that he needed to look for. His eyes landed on a cowering Mittlet that held a prepared spear in her hand. Ryu, with his speed now enhanced, rushes to the blonde loli.

**[BOOST!]**

_**Ba-bump…**_

Ryu stops and turns to look at Asia. Her energy was fading quickly, even with Ascalon's help!

_**[Transfer your Boosts and power to her in order to keep her alive!]**_

Thanks to Ddraig's voice and advice that snapped Ryu from his worry, he points the Boosted Gear towards the dying nun.

**[TRANSFER!]**

Asia's body momentarily glows green to show that the gauntlet indeed transferred his Boosts and some of his power.

Sighing in relief, Ryu returns back to the combat going on and focuses his attention to a now flying Mittlet.

**[BOOST!]**

"St-stay away!" The blonde throws a spear of light that Ryu graciously dodged. He soon found himself dodging another spear that was most definitely not of Mittlet's.

Dang, it was Raynare.

He needs to finish Mittlet off quick or she'll get the bright idea of healing her teammates.

**[BOOST!]**

Now no longer caring for environmental damage, Ryu takes out, creating a large crater right where he stood and stops at the altitude Mittlet was on.

His first course of action?

_**Squelch!**_

Drive Gram right through her stomach and perform a front flip kick while in mid-air that effectively took out the childish one in the group.

_**Thud!**_

(End: Bloodlust Slaughter)

Ryu falls back towards the ground on his feet and takes Gram out of her stomach.

**[BOOST!]**

**[TRANSFER!]**

Another Transfer was made to slow down Asia's death further.

_**[Partner, your body is getting closer and closer to shutting down completely! Be swift!]**_

He needed time to think, dammit! His vision is getting blurrier too! He needs to act fast!

_**Zoom!**_

Dodging a futile spear of Raynare's out of instinct, Ryu turns to face the one who threw it.

_**[Partner, I have a plan…]**_

Ryu's eyes widen again at hearing the Red Emperor's plan.

It was brilliant!

And it involved his next target to which he turns to look towards at.

Raynare takes a step back when Ryu set his sights on her. She quickly turns around and prepares to run.

_**POW!**_

Instead of seeing the window behind her as soon as she turned, she saw Ryu and then his red armored fist hit her right in the face. The force didn't have as much power as usual, however, it was enough to make her stumble back with a broken nose though. She touches her nose right after to fix them damage.

That was when she found she couldn't move her arms to begin with.

Looking at her wrists, she noticed that they were being constricted and held by Ryu's hand in a tight grip. She struggles, but to no avail, he was _far more_ stronger than she was right now. Ryu knees her a few good time in the stomach and in the face to make sure she was nice and woozy from blunt force trauma. Satisfied with her wobbly condition, he drags her to the back of the Sacred Gear extractor and pins her arms to each side of the cross-shaped machine.

And just to make sure she doesn't escape…

_**SHINK!**_

_**SQUELCH!**_

"AAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Ryu thrusts Gram through one of her hands and through the machine, barely missing Asia's chained hand. Keeping her other hand in place with the hand that contained Boosted Gear, Ryu uses his magic to jump start the machine. Upon seeing it begin to glow, he readies his other hand.

Raynare, being snapped out of the wooziness because of her hand being locked in place by the demonic sword, sees in time to witness Ryu plunge his uncovered hand deep into her core.

"_**AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"**_

The pain of his attacks and the sword impaling her hand had nothing on the pain she was feeling now.

Ryu did not even pay attention to the cries and squirms of agony. She'll live since this is not her Sacred Gear.

But it will hurt.

_**A lot.**_

Pulling his hand out from her chest, he opens his palm to see the two, green glowing rings of Twilight Healing.

Raynare stopped squirming and screaming when he finally extracted the Sacred Gear from her and shortly fell deep into unconsciousness.

Ryu removes his hand and sword from the Fallen Angel's wrist, causing her to hit the floor _hard_. He needed to hurry! His vision was only getting blurrier! Jogging to the other side of the crucifix-shaped machinery, he activates the machine once and gently pushes the Sacred Gear back inside of Asia where it belongs. He leans and presses his hear against her left breasts closely.

_**Ba-bump ba-bump ba-bump**_

(Cue: Pulling Heart Strings)

Removing his head from her still developing bosom, Ryu smiles at his achieved goal. Finally, he removes Ascalon from her chest and sheathes it along with Gram.

_**Clang cling clang!**_

Now all that remained was to break her from the imprisonment of the chains. Ryu catches her upon breaking the last chain and carries her bridal style to one of the front benches to set her down in a sitting position. Once that was done, he sat next to the still unconscious Asia, now prepared to face his own death. He wished he could have just a bit more time to at least write a note for her. Alas, it was too late.

_**[Partner... While our time together was short… I want you to know that you were someone I could consider kin. I truly wished you and I could live together until your time came to an end as a human. Know that you at least earned the rightful title as the "Strongest Sekiryutei" to have ever lived yet. I'm proud to have stood by your side in this final battle not as human and Sacred Gear or human and dragon, but as equals. I will never forget you and I do hope you will meet your parents in the great beyond.]**_

Ryu shed more tears from Ddraig's heart-warming speech and could feel Ddraig crying as well. Shortly after, his vision finally begins to darken around the corners.

(End: Pulling Heart Strings)

The last thing he saw was a shadowy and seemingly cloaked figure standing in front of him before it all went dark and the barrier was finally lifted.

* * *

**Ending: Rolling Star by Yui**

**(Yume ni made mita you na sekai de arasoi no naku heiwa ni kurashitai) **Camera shows the streets and buildings of Kuoh City that had fast moving shadows of bestial and demonic looking creatures. Suddenly, a human shaped shadow carrying what seemed to be two swords, lunging at the other shadows and the camera panned to show it was actually Ryu jumping up high in the air and then slashed the screen with his swords.

**(****Mou gaman bakka shiterannai yo ****iitai koto wa iwanakucha****) **The screen split into three from the slashes and now shows Ryu jumping across rooftops with Asia on his back and Kuroka and Shirone following behind him, all of them smiling in joy.

**(****Kaerimichi yuugure no basutei ****ochikonda senaka ni Bye Bye Bye!**)The scenery switches to show Rias and Sona playing a game of chess against each other in the ORC Clubroom and their Peerages doing other miscellaneous things or watching their Kings play.

**(****Kimi no Fighting Pose misenakya Oh! ****Oh!****)** The scene swapped again to show Ryu standing in the middle of the streets at nighttime, now in his serious personality. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he leapt towards the screen and punches it. This caused it to shatter to small shards of glass.

**(****Yume ni made mita you na sekai wa****arasoi mo naku heiwa na nichi jyou!****) **Now it demonstrates Ryu blocking a punch from Dohnaseek and counters with a punch of his own to the face, knocking him away. Next, he ducks to avoid a kick from behind by Kalawarner and counters with an uppercut that sent her flying. Lastly, he launches a beam of bronze colored energy at Mittlet that destroyed the incoming light spears in the process.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa hibi to rabu te ****tama ni kuyandari shiteru) **Swiftly turning around, Ryu charges towards Raynare, his gauntlet at the ready and jumps in the air to reach her with an open hand and she responds to throwing a light spear at him.

**(Sonna ROLLING DAYS!) **The entire screen went white right after.

**(Short Instrumental) **_A short series of flashbacks of all the times he fought against his foes that included Stray Devils, Freed, and the Fallen Angels play in his mind._

**(****Kitto uso nante sou imi wo motanai no) **Ryu falls to the floor, the bangs of his hair covers his eyes, and blood littered his torn up clothes and body.

**(All my loving… ****Sou janakya yatterannai!) **Two hands are offered in front of him and looks up to see Rias, Kiba, Akeno, and Asia and the hands belonging to Kuroka and Shirone.

**(Yume ni made mita you na Sweet Love ****koibitotachi wa kakure ga wo sagasu no) **Ryu gladly took the assistance and stood back up on his feet.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa aenai hi ga****tsuzuki nagara mo shinjiteru no Lonely days****) **Slowly raising his hand up, Ryu summons his Boosted Gear once more. The gem shines brightly and gives the white background made by the shining moon a more vibrant and beautiful color.

**(Tsumazuitatte Way to go! ****Yeah! Yeah!) **The group behind Ryu smiles at seeing him stand up and as he raised his armored hand up in the air.

**(Dorodarake ROLLING STAR!) **The screen soon becomes engulfed in a sea of green light by the gauntlet.

**End ending song**

* * *

**Finished. Now, one last thing to mention to the renegade soldier: Hopefully, you figured out by now whether the Fallen Angels are alive or not. If not, then the next chapter will definitely be the one you will find out if they are still alive. Now, back to the story: I know my story may not be the greatest nor extremely different from the rest, but I'm damn sure you didn't expect this! Also, I'm starting to think I should find a stable and selective soundtrack for this story instead of using random ones all willy-nilly. With that said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	11. Aftermath, Truth, and Love

'**Sup! Ryu Mamoru here! Hot damn; the swords finally accepted him as his wielder and his Boosted Gear achieved a new level of power! Perhaps this will give him a chance to increase his arsenal more? Anyways, I hope that last chapter did a fantastic job of giving you those goosebumps or that blood rushing adrenaline! Maybe a tear shed in Ryu's incident and sacrifice? If so; awesome for me! It means I am making a great volume!**

**Yes! Review time!**

**Piemaster981: Pff- hahahahaha! I cringed and laughed when I read your comment. I'm sorry that I ended the chapter on a sad note, but it needed to be done. Again, the cliff was doing its job.**

**The renegade soldier: That shocked, huh? On the subject of Ryu being overpowered: He's barely achieved a new level of power even if the possibilities for more techniques and abilities are open to him now. He needs to train to hone his newfound powers. Though he is now Rank 3/High Class with the Boosted Gear and Dragon Slaying Swords, so that's a plus of being at least strong in his own right… Right? But for now, I can just say he's strategically overpowered. About Trihexa: NO! Trihexa will remain as a foe to all of creation with added surprises once the time comes... And I doubt I'll be raped.**

**AidosX: Thanks!**

**K1N6K0N6: It depends. The rate I'm going with each chapter is between a day to three like this one. If it is suspenseful ones like the previous two, then five to seven days. In my opinion, that is fast.**

**Tmax 99: Thanks a bunch! And yes, Rias and Akeno will have to earn their place in Ryu's heart if he is getting a harem. No more of the other way around like the **_**many**_** others stories.**

**Blazedragon94: I didn't expect someone to ask that question. I'll answer though: It will be revealed in the future on the swords and of their original wielders.**

**With those reviews done and over with…**

**I don't own Highschool DxD! Only my awesome creation, Ryu Mamoru!**

**I'd also like to add that you, as the readers slash viewers, will finally be able to read what Ryu "thinks" and "says" from now on!**

**P.S. There is a reason why I put quotation marks when Ryu "speaks" or "thinks."**

**P.S.S. This chapter will be longer than the usual.**

"I refuse to give up!" – Speech  
_"I can't keep up…" – Thoughts/Flashbacks speech  
__'Let's do this, Ddraig!' – Ryu "speech"  
__'Please, lend me your power!' – Ryu "thoughts"__  
_**[Hang in there!]/[BOOST!] – Ddraig speech****  
****_[Through the thick and thin, partner.] – Ddraig thoughts/Flashback speech_**

* * *

**Opening: Sympathy by Larval Stage Planning**

**(Tomo ni mou ichido tachiagare ****mamore hitotsu no inochi…) **The camera shows Ryu landing on the ground and narrowing his eyes at the Peerage of Riser as they prepare themselves for combat. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he charges at them and the green gem begins to glow.

**(****Tayasanu yo niiii!) **The glow stopped and the upcoming clash is replaced with the picture of the Boosted Gear itself across the screen horizontally and the title appears in the middle.

**_"古伝の竜守る Vol 0: 不羈 (Legend of the Dragon Protector, Vol 0: Freedom)"_**

Then the gauntlet and title turn to shiny green particles.

**(****Futatabi otozureta yoake ni me ga samete kimi wo omoi dasu yume no tochuu) **The particles vanished to show the ORC Club and scrolls from left to right to show Rias to Kiba, Akeno, Asia, and finally to Shirone and Kuroka. All of them smiling towards the camera.

**(Me no mae no zanzo susumanai ashidori ****toozakatte yuku hiriki na boku) **Once more, the scenery switched to the Student Council Room and scrolled from right to left this time to show Sona, Tsubaki, Saji, Momo, Reya, Tsubasa, Rukuro, and Tomoe, all smiling at the camera as well.

**(Taisetsu na mono wa doko ni aru? ****Ashita wo shinjiru nara wasurenaide!) **The screen returned back to Ryu charging towards Riser's Peerage and the camera panned to the females and zooms past them and closes in on Riser's smirking face.

**(Ima koso saa inochi wo kakete susumi dasu toki****omoi ga tsuyoi hodo tsuyokunaru!)** Ryu dodges, parries, and counters the attacks of the servants in the Phenex's Peerage and heads straight for Riser after dealing with the females.

**(Hengen suru tsugihagi darake no risou dewa****sugu ni kiete shimau kara!) **Riser flies up in the air with his fire wings and Ryu follows suit with his energy being released through the sole of his feet and shoes and clash high in the sky with fist against fist, kicks against kick, and yellowish colored fires against copper colored lasers.

**(Towa e tsuzuku kawasu chikai****furue dashita karada no soko kara!) **Ryu slowly held up his Sacred Gear and the jewel shines once more with a light so intense that made Riser cover his eyes from its intensity. Red flames spread around Ryu's entire body and an armored silhouette slowly makes it appearance within the flames with emerald green eyes piercing through the red fire.

**End opening song**

* * *

**_Inside the Link between Ryu's mind and the Boosted Gear…_**

Ryu is helplessly floating across the never ending abyss of darkness in his unconscious state that rendered him unable to do a single thing.

**[Hmm...?]**

The legendary red dragon, Ddraig, ceased the mourning of his supposed loss of someone he considered as his kid-brother. The dragon narrowed eyes just to have them widened once more.

**[Partner!]**

**_FWOOOM!_**

Once again, the red flames of the original Sekiryutei, Ddraig, spread across the deep and dark chasm of nothing. That was when a gargantuan, scaly, and red wing extended out to have Ryu land softly on top of it. Folding and flexing his wing and neck to look at him, Ddraig attempts to speak with him.

**[Partner, awaken! Please, tell me you are the real one and not a manifestation of your emotions and memories!]**

…..

**_Twitch_**

Ddraig's eyes widened in shock and joy. His eyes already watering once more from the excess in happiness that swelled in his core.

'Mmm… Ddraig…? Is this Heaven?' Ryu rubs his eyes as he sat up. Opening his eyes, he takes a look around his environment and notes the familiar red flames with the red tinted background. This looked similar to the place where it connects between his Sacred Gear and his psyche.

'Wait a minute…'

Ddraig smirks in amusement at seeing Ryu trying to figure out what's going on.

_**[It truly is him…]**_

'I'm in the Link… That means…'

Ryu looks down at his legs, completely ignoring the fact he was sitting on a wing. Ddraig's wing, to be specific. Ddraig looks at the child in anticipation.

'I MUST BE IN PURGURATORY!' Ryu grasps his hair at the horror that he could be indeed crazy.

…..

_**Cricket cricket cricket**_

How is there a cricket sound in here!?

**[HHAAHH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!]**

Ddraig starts laughing from the unexpected reaction.

Ryu jumps up to standing position and looks up. His breath caught in his throat when seeing his most trusted friend.

Ddraig.

Who, speaking of which, was slowly dying out in his laughter.

**[Ohhhh… Hahah… That was great… The comedic irony hit me right on target. I did happen to control Purgatory myself before being imprisoned. Crimson Purgatory, to be exact. The place where the souls of the ones who did wrong suffer when they're in the line between life and death and are tested to see if they live or die an-] **Ddraig was interrupted when he felt two tiny arms and an equally tiny torso on his snout. Tracing his eyesight to the origin, he smiles at seeing Ryu try to hug his giant snout.

'I thought I would have never seen you again…'

Ddraig simply nuzzled him back lightly. **[As did I, partner. As did I…] **

After a few moments, the two separate. That's when they finally noticed something.

The holes in his body.

They were gone.

All that remained were gruesome scars from the four areas he was pierced that added to the already piling up scars that already littered his entire person.

Oh yeah, his clothes were trashed too. It also had the four holes also.

'Huh…? How is that-…?'

**[Someone must have healed. Before your vision went completely dark, I did manage to see a figure. Cloaked and well-hidden in the dark. Even then, I wouldn't see the person from your blurry and darkened vision. It is not your fault so do not fret, partner.]**

Ryu's eyes shot wide open at this info. 'Maybe this person helped me?' Ddraig hummed in thought. **[Possibly. You were officially dead and that prevented me from sensing who or what it was. Perhaps the nun awoken and saved you? You're definitely not reincarnated though. We can thank your luck for that. Hmhmhmhm.] **Ddraig chuckled at the last part. Ryu was always lucky in so many things. Even in combat. It's just in the type of people he meets that lack the same luck.

Ryu sighed in relief at hearing he was not reincarnated. He didn't need that. 'Well… I think it's time to see if I really am alive, huh?' Ddraig smiles and nods to the suggestion in agreement. Ryu closes his eyes and focuses and pushing himself out of consciousness to see if he truly still intact…

* * *

_**Abandoned Church – Hidden Levels: Ryu and Asia**_

"Ryu, please wake up!" Asia, having woken a few seconds after Ryu "died," had been in panic mode. She's been trying to wake up the poor guy for a minute now.

After some twitching and movement, Ryu slowly opens his eyes. Asia smiled at seeing this and immediately threw herself at him for a hug. With his trained self and gained reflexes, he automatically catches her and hugs her back by instinct. Upon seeing and sensing it was Asia, he hugged her even tighter.

'I'm so glad you're alive and safe, Asia…'

Asia jumped back in shock and surprise when she "heard" Ryu's "voice" in her head. "Did you just speak just now, Ryu?" Ryu nods and waves off the upcoming questions. 'I am still mute, but I'm very different. It doesn't matter right now, how are you?' Asia's smile returns to its glory. "I'm alive! I'm doing well and healthy! And it's all thanks to you, Ryu…" Asia returns to her shy self and pokes her two index fingers together when she spoke the last part.

Ryu nods in satisfaction and pets her head, eliciting a hum of content and happiness from the nun to which he chuckles at. 'And thank you for healing me back to a hundred percent.'

This is where it got intense…

"Hmm? Me? I didn't do that, Ryu. It was a hidden person." Ryu stood up at hearing this and checked if his body worked normally, then his magic system inside of him; the core, that also worked out fine. While he moved his body about, he noticed the two swords were on his back, sheathed. So he dismissed them. Causing Ascalon to burst into beautiful, white particles and Gram bursts in pitch black sparks of electricity. He also noticed his upgraded Boosted Gear and dismissed it also.

'So, you were saying something about a hidden person?' Asia shook out of her shocked and awed daze when "hearing" Ryu. Nodding, she responds, "Yes. It started out like this…"

* * *

_**Flashback**_

"I barely awoke, just when… Um… You… Passed away…"

_Asia opens her eyes and gasps at the first thing she saw; someone cloaked. The cloaked person in question brings their index finger to their smiling lips. "I'm going to save Ryu-chan, nya." Asia's eyes begin to water after processing what the hooded figure spoke whose voice revealed to be a female's. They stop to water just as fast once she heard the cloaked female would help him. "Really?"_

_The female nods and leans in towards Ryu, hands glowing a dark color. Asia observed in amazement at seeing this mysterious female begin to rejuvenate his injuries. Most importantly, his heart first._

"She healed you even faster than I ever could! It took her only seconds to heal your organs and even a fewer seconds to heal your wounds!"

_After fully healing him, she takes a step, having Asia get a glimpse of the bottom of her corneas that were colored golden-yellow with black hair upon seeing some of her bangs. _

"_Nya, I forgot something!"_

"She took out some type of forearm guards and shin guards... The ones that go to the left side were tinted black and the ones for the right side were tinted white. She placed them on you. I was still shocked, so I couldn't do anything… I'm sorry." Ryu rubs her head to make her not sad. It worked and she continued the flashback.

_After applying the shin and forearm guards, the cloaked figure steps back._

"_My my, nya, he's grown so handsome, nya~ Sa (Okay), Ja ne (See you later)~!" The woman simply phases out of existence in the green eyes of the nun. In reality, she was just too fast to not even register _anything_._

_**Flashback End**_

* * *

Ryu stared at the floor as if it had murdered his fami-

Okay, not going there.

Either way, Ryu stares at the floor with sadness, elated happiness, and shock. Tears of those three general emotions poured from his bottom eye lids. He smiles after sorting out his feelings and all was turned to pure happiness.

'I always… Knew she was alive out there…'

Asia smiles along with Ryu at seeing his happy self return.

**[Those two descriptions and the verbal tick in her sentences clinched it. It was Kuroka Toujou.]**

Asia jumps in shock and looks around until remembering it was Ddraig and looks at Ryu's left hand. "Ah, Mr. Ddraig! It's nice to see that you're also alive and healthy!" Ddraig's chuckle rumble out of the green glow in the back of Ryu's left hand. **[I cannot consider myself alive and healthy when I am naught but a simple spirit that resides in this Sacred Gear.] **The poor nun was thrown in a loop of confusion from that. "Oh! Um… Uhh… Then… Nice… To… Have your spirit still here…?"

Ddraig smirked at hearing the last part. **[Usually, I would say I do not want to be in this Sacred Gear to begin with. But because of partner here, I'll gladly say… Thank you for having me here.] **The blonde, green eyed girl's happiness just increased.

In the end, this reunion of two death-defying people and the sealed dragon had to come to an interrupting close.

"RYUUU!"

The two humans cease to converse and turns to where the voice came from.

"The entrance? Who is that?"

Ryu smiles even more when he identified the voice. He gets up and rushes to the entrance hurriedly and anxiously. That is when he sees Shirone and her team finally descended from the stairs. The white hared first year lunges at Ryu and hugs him as he was her lifeline.

"You're okay… I felt that you were dying, so I rushed as fast as I could to get here…" Shirone nuzzles his neck while Ryu pets her head as an act of comfort. Kiba approaches his brown haired senpai and pats him on the unoccupied shoulders. "Nice to see you're still with us, senpai." Ryu and Kiba stare at each other before they both smile towards the other and fist bump.

Rias and Akeno looked around the area and noted the destruction.

And more importantly, the Fallen Angels.

The red and black haired duo began to investigate and wave in a friendly manner at Asia while doing so. "This is… Impressive, to say the least." Rias as well as Akeno, return back to their group with Asia shyly walking towards Ryu. "Defeating not one, but _four_ Fallen Angels at once is no easy feat, Ryu-kun." Shirone and Ryu finally separated from hugging and he simply rubs the back of his head with a sheepish expression. 'What are you guys doing here, anyways?'

Kiba turns to Rias and Akeno to translate, "He asked why we're here. Should we tell him?" Rias nods although a bit stiffly. "We came here because of the reports that we received on large Fallen Angel activity that went on. It was pinpointed that it was at this abandoned church. Not the most inconspicuous of locations, but then again, the enemy might think that it would be too obvious for them to be here. Ryu nods in agreement to that.

Kiba chose to interject, "Perhaps you might have noticed before that there were many exorcists and Freed also. Now, you could have perhaps already noticed that they are now gone." Once more, the two grin at each other and fist pump once more. Akeno, looking conflicted, wanted to clear something up, "Ryu-kun. Did you set up the barrier to make sure none of the exorcists were aware of your arrival?"

Ryu nods again at the question. 'I was planning on dealing with them after I was done here. But…' Choosing his words and decision carefully, he continues, 'I guess you already handled it.' Ryu grinned at Akeno who giggled. "Ara, I actually was able to read your lip movement, Ryu-kun." Rias, with surprise, nodded in agreement. The red head was also able to read his lips on what he said now.

She was happy about having taken another step to being closer on gaining his full trust, but at the same time, she inwardly cringed. "Anyways, I noticed the Fallen Angels are still alive and breathing. Barely. At the condition you left them at, they are all going to die if they are left here." Ryu nodded at this.

_**[I noticed that too, partner. You let them live. Purposefully avoiding using their weaknesses. Like Ascalon being used on the male Fallen Angel. Suppressing Gram to not use his demonic energy on the blue and blonde haired female Fallen Angels that were their weakness. Then, letting the leader live with an inch of her life after the punishment you gave her from your attacks and taking the Sacred Gear back. Gram wasn't her weakness either.]**_

Ddraig was right. Kalawarner and Mittlet were more on the holy side due to their more kinder/understanding personalities. Dohnaseek and Raynare were weak to Ascalon because of the male's battle thirsty tendencies and the female's superiority complex making them more on the demonic side. Yet, he avoided them from pretty much being eviscerated by both swords or his own power.

Staring into the group's own eyes and mentally staring back at Ddraig, his reponse was…

'I purposely left it to Asia's decision.'

This elicit gasps from the entire group while Ddraig just smirked at Ryu.

Ddraig knew his partner all too well and he was damn proud of the kid.

Ignoring the expected reaction he received, Ryu explained himself, 'I left them at a critical condition because I knew that I would save Asia and when I did, I would have left her a choice. To heal them back to health if she thought they deserved a second chance. Or leave them to die after what they attempted to do to her. She was the victim and she had the right to choose their fate.'

Everyone except Ddraig were breathless at the act he did. They could not decide whether it was dumb, smart, selfless, or selfish. Nothing; they couldn't find a response to that nor find a way to take it in.

"U-um…" Asia was definitely stressing about it now if her constant fidgeting notified anything. She was conflicted in what to do on whether they live or die."A-ano (U-um)… I-I think… They should have a chance to live… Maybe learn from their mistakes…?" Ryu stares at Asia evenly, his shrunken pupils returning. 'Are you sure?' Asia, after giving it some thought, nods. Ryu nods back in acknowledgement. 'Then let's start healing them. They'll stay unconscious though. Good thing too. I didn't need them chasing after you as soon as you revived them.'

That was definitely something the entire group could agree on. However, Rias wanted to get a bit of info as to why Ryu was here. She knew it involved the nun. It's just that she didn't know what exactly happened. "Ryu-kun," Ryu looks at Rias, "Do you think you could let us in on what happened." Slowly nodding, Ryu looks at Asia with a familiar look of "Let me handle this" to which she nods in agreement. Even the innocent nun was all too familiar of that look.

With Asia rushing to the Fallen Angels in order to heal them, Ryu began to explain the situation that took place, leaving out the part where he got stabbed… Multiple times. And about the two swords or even about the possible return of Kuroka for that matter. He would only tell that to Shirone and perhaps Asia when they are alone.

"Twilight Healing…? That's pretty much the most powerful of the supportive types in Sacred Gears. It can heal whatever race or species the user chooses. I can see why they wanted Asia. All for Azazel and Shemhazai? Hmm…" Rias ponders about this. **[Kalawarner was actually the one who also mentioned the order to kill him came from a Cadre. Even if Shemhazai is the Vice-Governor, he is still considered a Cadre. But the only one I am positive that made the order was… Kokabiel.]**

Akeno's eyes lit up in piecing the puzzle together. "Ddraig is correct. It must be Kokabiel. Stories were told that he was the warmonger among the Fallen Angels' leaders. He could have been suspicious of Ryu's Boosted Gear and in Devil's territory which means that, out of fear, ordered some foot soldiers to assassinate him." Ryu's eyes shrunk further when he heard something that Akeno just said. Everyone that were in the Peerage just stiffened at what Akeno had just said and turned to Ryu.

**[What…? Are you telling me this entire city has been your territory, Gremory!?]**

Ryu immediately lunges at Rias with speed that only Shirone and Akeno could catch up to. He pins her against a wall and the Gremory instinctively grabbed Ryu's wrist and forearm that held her against the wall.

**[Rias Gremory… I knew that you were using the Fallen Angels to recruit my partner… That act already was clear in my eyes. You were lying when you said you were helping him. I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt and think that you were being honest. But upon hearing that this was your territory… You definitely planned it all out…] **

Ryu grips Rias' throat and lifts her off the ground. He wasn't choking her, as most supernatural beings did not need to breathe like Devils, she just tried to lessen the strength in the hold she was in because it beginning to hurt.

Half of the people in the room were conflicted at this point.

Kiba was trying to wrap his mind in performing the brave, stupid, and knowingly futile act of trying to have Ryu let Rias go but at the same time… What she did was incorrect. Clearly in the file of Ryu, it stated he was already suffering a type of mental trauma that caused him multiple personality disorder and Rias still went with that dangerous idea of hers. He didn't know whether to save his King or let her take the consequences of her actions and the fact she knew the possibility that her objective in her plan involved someone who just wanted fun and friends after all the hardships he went through.

Asia was panicking at seeing the sight of the red head she briefly met and Ryu. So far, she was on Ryu's side mostly because she knew Ryu did not lash out unless the reason called for it. She wasn't aware of the details, but knew that it was dire if it pushed Ryu to do this.

Akeno was frowning once more. She expected this. Ryu would have found out eventually and would have attacked Rias. With all the stuff Ryu went through and to realize he was simply expected to die by a Fallen Angel in order to become a slave was probably not something he liked. Akeno didn't want Rias to go through this, she really didn't. Her red head friend still needed to learn that life doesn't always give you everything you want without a price though. Plus, Akeno was in a sure shot mindset that Ryu would not harm Rias badly.

Shirone was a different story. As much as she didn't like how things were going, she was ready nonetheless. She was going to follow Ryu's decisions and if it involved another Kuroka incident then so be it. She was going to stick with Ryu through the good and the bad. She was _not _going to lose one of the two things she cared about and in Ryu's case: Admire and love.

'You know what…? The fact that my meeting with her might have been indirectly planned… I'm not bothered by that…' A flash of realization crossed Ddraig's eyes inside of his Sacred Gear. Rias was surprised she was still able to read his lips as her throat is still being held in a grip. This took everyone by surprise. Even more so at the next part he said:

'What gives you the right to simply claim territory over a human area!? Humans have worked hard for their land after you beings kept destroying more and more of the human world and you simply think taking it without any second thought is okay!? We worked hard to get this far and you just want to claim over it because it seems nice and convenient to you!?'

Everyone was startled by his outburst or in Akeno and Rias' case, his posture. Sure enough like Akeno predicted, Ryu lets Rias go, making her fall on her butt and rubbing her throat. She didn't say anything. She was expecting a different reason for the outburst and that took her off guard.

'_If that's the case with many of the supernatural races… Then I'll simply be the one to free humanity from the clutches from those with greedy intentions! I'll become strong enough and show __**everyone **__that humans are no longer these weak pushovers!'_

_**[Partner, the Hero Faction already does that. Except they also want to destroy all Devils and Fallen Angels too…]**__ 'That is not good. Even if they share the same interest of humanity's protection, they want to kill off a race that deserves to live just as much as any other race has.' _Ddraig's grin returned once more at hearing this. _**[Then allow me to be the one to stand side by side with you and witness that day to happen. I have no doubt that we can achieve that dream, partner.]**_

That said, Ryu's face returns to even look, now his eyes grew back to their normal size of their shrunken state, meaning he was still in his mature self. Sighing, he offers his hand to Rias. The mentioned red head slowly takes his hand and stands back up to her feet.

Dusting herself off, Rias musters up enough courage to look into the eyes of the victim. "U-um… I'm… Sorry about using the Fallen Angels to get you on my Peerage…" Ryu stares deeply in Rias' teal colored eyes.

'…..'

"….."

A sigh escaped his lips whilst closing his eyes. Ryu opened his eyes back up and looked back at Rias once more. 'It's fine… Asia is finished here, so I think I'll take my leave with her… If you don't mind.' Rias nodded in understanding. He did look like he took quite a thrashing. Thankfully, she never noticed the pierced holes from being too busy processing everything that transpired.

Ryu motions Asia to follow him and she did so with pleasure. Rubbing her blonde hair, he casts one last glance at everyone and gives them a mock two-finger salute before heading back out with Asia in tow. Behind them, the Peerage just had concern looks in their faces. Shirone figured it was best to leave Ryu alone for a bit and then check on him.

* * *

_**Abandoned Church – Entrance: Ryu and Asia**_

Ryu led each other outside of the church and covering Asia eyes to help her avoid seeing the dead corpses that littered the entire building inside. 'Okay, from here, it's an entire sprint to my home, okay?' She nods at this and yelped out an "Eep" when Ryu carried her in his arms like a prince carries his princess. Ryu took off with a large leap that could rival the height of skyscrapers. Asia, would normally be screaming at the insane height, but she was transfixed on her protector's face and the muscles he's developed over the years.

"_He looks so amazing and-"_

Asia, with bullet fast speed, shakes her head to rid of the rude thoughts that invaded her mind.

"_N-no! I mustn't think like that!"_

* * *

_**Nighttime, Mamoru Residence: Ryu and Asia**_

It really didn't take long for Ryu to reach his house and having Asia wear his clothing that were too big for her… It was just until the time came when he buys her clothes though.

Or he could make them with magic.

…

Yeah, definitely go with option 2. 'Cause magic is awesome and it can do almost everything.

"Waaahhhh! Your home is amazing, Ryu!" Ryu chuckles at the former nun's once more renewed energy. It was nice to see her happy again.

'Want me to fix you up any food before I head out to rest, Asia?' Asia just shakes her head in response. "I'll prepare the food instead." Ryu blinked at that. 'Are you sure?' Asia nods this time. "Mhm! I want to thank the one who saved my life by preparing him food for as long as I can!" Asia uncharacteristically fist pumped the air. **[Hmph. I think she got that from you, partner.] **Everyone shared a laugh at that.

Well… Ryu's was a silent laugh.

"I'll call you down as soon as the food's ready, okay?" Ryu nods at the plan and heads upstairs in order to change his clothes. He left the pieces of armor on, however. He decided he'll take a bath after eating. He really wanted to just lay down for a bit. He was not exhausted, he just wanted to relax and take a breather without any sound or noise. He was previously exhausted, mentally and physically, from reaching the First and Second Danger Stages of the Boosted Gear until the increase of power and the healing he got.

He still couldn't believe the fact the swords finally accepted and gave him such gifts that they granted to him.

**[Partner, I shall take a rest myself. Even if I am but a mere spirit now, I would like to simply "lay back and chill" as you humans say.] **Ryu laughed silently at Ddraig's attempt to act cool.

_**Grooaaannn…**_

After closing the door behind him, Ryu closed the door, he promptly plopped himself on top of the bed. The bed naturally groaned from the sudden weight.

Shutting his eyes for a moment, he begins to take in the silence in his room.

_**Shuffle…**_

Ryu squirms a bit when he feels shuffling around his bed.

'_Wait… There's no one on my bed but me…'_

Ryu snapped his eyes open, now in his matured state of mind.

And what he saw reverted him back to his innocent self…

Kuroka.

Wearing a beautiful, black kimono with red on the inside color of the kimono. A yellow sash wrapped around her waist and abdomen with visible care and had large, palm sized bells that seemed to make no sound at all. It showed how lean and fit her body was. The kimono was even opened up on both the lower and upper body section to show her long, creamy white legs and a large amount of cleavage from her _giant_ breasts that beat Akeno's by just a few centimeters. Purple and black sandals right next to his bed, on the floor.

He bet that she was as tall as himself. It's not exactly tall, but still.

"You really have _grown_, Ryu-chan, nya~" Kuroka playfully noted with a purr at the "grown" part. Grinning a grin that showed her pure white fangs. "You really have become a fine ma-" Kuroka let out a gasp of shock when Ryu suddenly sat up and buried his face in his generously open and revealed chest and wrapping his arms around her slender waist with all the strength a human could muster. The Longinus wielder was _bawling_ his eyes out. If he had his voice, he would be crying quite loudly. Not that it mattered; even if his voice returned, it would have been mostly muffled by Kuroka's huge breasts.

Kuroka's grin turned to a genuine smile and used one of her arms to hug his torso and the other used to rub his hair like he did. Whispering a caring tone, she said, _"I'm here, Ryu-kun. I'm right here~" _Ryu nuzzles more in the black Nekomata's bosom that gained him a shuddered exhale of pleasure. Gaining an idea, she gently pushed Ryu off of her and back on the bed. Leaning down with her hands on his chiseled chest that she wanted to cop a direct feel, she whispered in a different tone; one of seduction. _"How about I make it up to you for leaving you all these years… Ne (Okay)? Nya~"_

_**(Warning: Lemon Scene Inbound! Scroll to the next bold, italic, and underlined letters to skip!)**_

Ryu's eyes shrunk automatically when he heard this tone. He tilted his head curiously at this. With speed that far surpassed his, Kuroka was already in position: Her ass facing him and she was facing his crotch.

"I wonder how big this really is, nya~?" Kuroka starts rubbing his crotch in anticipation and excitement. Once more, those electric-like shivers that were unfamiliar yet instinctively welcomed to Ryu, began to shoot up and down his entire body, a blush spreading across his cheeks. Deciding that this could be Kuroka's form of repayment for having left him for so long, he let these instincts take over him, causing his eyes to become glossy. He then noticed a wet spot on the black haired girl's purple panties and rubs the wet area.

"Nya!?" Kuroka's back arches when Ryu touched her sensitive spot. Shivers of pleasure travel down her very spine. "R-Ryu?" She turns to see the man in question pressing and rubbing her panties more, making her gasp and moan in pleasure. _"A-and he's only using his fingers and with my underwear still on, no less!" _

Focusing back on what she was previously doing with the addition of pleasurable shivers, she gasps once again, but this time, at the giant tent-shaped bulge in his boxers. Without a drop of hesitation, Kuroka lowers his boxers and stared wide-eyed at the spectacle she is witnessing. She wraps her smooth fingers around-… _"-…h-his dick… It's so thick… A-and it's so long... 9 inches? 10?"_ She starts rubbing it up and down using her hand.

Ryu tensed at the physical contact with her hand and his penis and decided to mimic Kuroka by taking her panties off her thighs, resulting in her plump ass to jiggle slightly and starts inserting his fingers inside her stuffy pussy. This made Kuroka arch her back again from the contact. "Nyyaaa!" She stopped stroking his dick and started to lick its shaft and tip.

He grunted silently in pleasure and starts licking the entrance of her pussy. Once more, Kuroka stopped licking his penis abruptly, "Nya~! Ryu-baka! I'm trying to pleasure _you_!" Her response was Ryu grabbing and squeezing her ass, digging his fingers in its plump firmness and sticks his tongue inside of her pussy. Her back starts to have short spasms from the intensity of the pleasure. She had to suppress to moan and counter attacks by shoving a fourth of his dick in her mouth.

Stopping for only a split second, he kept exploring Kuroka's deep and tight insides with his tongue. "Mmm~!" The Neko takes in half of his shaft and starts bobbing her head up and down with each time she kept going down on his dick is when she inserted more of his dick further inside her mouth. She could already feel it hitting the back of her throat. Luckily, she was a cat; she did not have a gag reflex. Meaning this did not bother her at all.

"_Still, it's so big and hot… Ahn~! It's throbbing so much that it's making my throat feel so good, nya~"_

Though, she did feel like she was close to cumming and Ryu squeezing and assaulting her ass and insides in such pleasurable ways did not help.

So she wanted to hopefully end in a draw by using her ultimate technique…

Purring.

Taking the entire rod of hot, throbbing, and meat inside of her throat to the point it bent inside her throat in order to keep going, she purred. At the same time, Ryu licked her clitoris on accident, making both climax from the sudden jolts of pleasure. Uncontrollable spasms overtook their bodies and closed their eyes from the intense feeling.

"I'M CUMMING!

Both, on instinct, closed their eyes as their sperm and juices entered their mouths respectively. They began to drink each other's released juices. For Ryu, it tasted exactly like the scent he kept sensing from Shirone, Rias, Akeno, and Kuroka: Sweet. He couldn't exactly compare to what sweet things he's had in his life, but it was definitely sweet. For Kuroka, his sperm tasted a strange mixture of both sweet and sour. She briefly wondered why his essence tasted sweet with sourness when in the magazines said a male's sperm tasted quite sour until she figured out the possibility of why.

This was an entirely new experience for the Dragon Protector and the Kuro Nekomata.

"Pwah!" Kuroka took out Ryu's meat out of her mouth with a loud suction sound and panted not from the loss of oxygen as she did not need that, but from the extreme amount of emotional fatigue thanks to the amazing sensation she received from Ryu's tongue and hands. "Nnn… Hah… Nya…" Kuroka just kept panting and moaning with her tongue out, already feeling her body heating up, stomach itching for a certain "something."

The brown haired male took controlled breaths from this unusual feeling. Never in his life did he feel this…

Good, for lack of a better term.

So alive, yet so tired. It wasn't even physical fatigue. It felt so exhilarating. His adrenaline pumped just as equally fast when in a life and death battle, just without the violence and risk of death.

He wanted to experience more. His curiosity was getting the better of him and so was his awakened sex drive.

Slowly, Kuroka manages to shakily turn around and face Ryu. Her breath erratic and her eyes entirely glazed with love and lust. "Ryu-kun… Motto hoshii (I want more of it)…" Ryu, getting the meaning of what she said, sat up and started to kiss her neck lovingly. "Ahh~" Kuroka wraps her arms around Ryu's neck and head as his tongue trailed around her neck and collarbone. In the meantime, Ryu began to slowly undress the Youkai's kimono by unfastening the sash and loosening the kimono itself that resulted in exposing her breasts that bounced about upon being released from the article of clothing.

"Ahh! Mm! Nya, Ryu-kun~!" Kuroka cried out his name as he fondled her godly orbs of flesh. Ryu had a strange attraction to her breasts more than anything and he didn't know why. Perhaps even to Shirone as well and he never noticed. "NYYYAAAAHHHH!" The Neko girl's back spasms when he pinched her hard, pink nipples. "P-please, s-suck on them…" Kuroka grabbed her breasts and pushed them up to his face to which he begins sucking them with great honor. "Nya!" Obviously from the mewls of pleasure, she was enjoying it. The brown haired soon to be man caressed and stroked her giant breasts and even gave them rough squeezes every now and then. "Mmm...!" Ryu licked her nipples as he sucked on them, making Kuroka arch her back even more. "MMM!" She tries to restrain her moans, but when Ryu bit her pink tits, she screams out once more, "AAAAHHHH! NYAAAA!" Kuroka, stuck her tongue out again at how good her breasts were feeling. Never did she expect to make her submit so readily and easily for someone who did the teasing.

Eventually, Ryu stopped suckling on her breasts and laid on top of the sheets in order to move to the big event of this night before Asia comes up to tell him the food was ready. Kuroka started to position herself and began to push down against Ryu's long and thick dick inside of her pussy and forced it to pierce right through her hymen that was her virginity. Kuroka let out a cry of pain and blood slowly seeped out of the entrance of her pussy and down Ryu's penis.

Ryu being the one unaware that this would happen, was about to spring out to heal her. That is what he was about to do if his pained partner of love didn't place a hand on his chest to stop him. "I-it's… Oka-okay… This i-is to show th-that you… A-are my first time…" Despite the pained tears trickling down her cheeks, she still smiled in reassurance. "C-continue… Please…" With a nod, Ryu tensed up his hips and began thrusting, grinding his hard-on against her tight insides. "Nyah... Nnh... Hah... More... Please... More..." Strangely enough, instead of slowing down from this tight resistance from Kuroka, he only kept thrusting faster. "Gasp! HYAH~!" This action already replaced the pain to pleasure for the horny Kuroka pretty quickly. The sound of flesh hitting flesh being the second most loudest thing in the room currently. "Ahn... Mm... Nyu... Hah hah hah... More! Please, Ryu! I... Ah! Want more!" The moans and cries of drunken pleasure and lust being the first.

Kuroka was on Cloud 9 with the side of euphoria and ecstacy. Her tongue sticking out even more than usual, eyes nearly closed, and a panting, sweating mess as she kept riding on top of Ryu even though the dominant one was clearly him. She didn't think it would feel this amazing; masturbation could not come even one percent close. Mind a clear blank a long time ago, she just kept panting and moaning at feeling Ryu's penis rubbing her insides and could do not nothing but keep cumming continuously and enjoy the ride. This only got even more intense for her when Ryu got bold and grabbed her sensitive breasts again. "Hnn- NYA~!" She released once more when she felt Ryu pull gently close in order to suck on her tits again, squeezing and groping the rest of her breasts as if milk would come out.

Ryu was feeling simply _amazing_. He could not stop and only kept going faster and harder. He could feel his groin getting harder and hotter. Kuroka's pussy just felt pure bliss; it was so soft and it pressed his penis more that increased his body's pleasure output. He never dreamed sexual intercourse could feel this incredible! And judging by his lover's expression, she was equally enjoying this or even more than him. He narrowed his eyes and scrunched his face up. He could feel that release he previously did during Kuroka's feline fellatio coming back.

Giving one last grunt silent that said his limit has been reached, Ryu released his sperm for the second time and inside of Kuroka's womb this time. At the same time she climaxed for the 9th time. This made the output reach its highest point yet.

"NNNYYYYAAAAAAA~!"

The sound of Kuroka's limit being reached was screamed out and her body convulsed heavily from the hot, white liquid entering her stomach; her womb, to be exact.

No longer having any strength left, she lands softly on top of Ryu's chest, panting blissfully. Ryu, panting only slightly, hugged Kuroka close to him.

The simple hug made her cum again thanks to her now highly sensitive nerves.

"IYAAHHH~!"

_**(Lemon End.)**_

* * *

_**After a few minutes later…**_

"Whew…" Kuroka is now fixing her hair and kimono from its own messiness due to the intense action in bed.

Did she regret it?

Nope!

"_But I should be thankful for knowing Senjutsu or I wouldn't be able to move for about a day or two!"_

She didn't expect Ryu to be so intense in bed. Of course, she felt a bit sad at only having Ryu release twice and the first time from surprise while he did it to her _ten times_! Kuroka giggled at how Ryu really grew into such a great man.

"_From saving innocent people that could cost him his life, to being fantastic in bed. Nya, I'm so lucky to have met him~"_

Ryu, for his innocent self, did not experience that woman-to-man action, but he still felt that fatigue and equally refreshing feeling.

Kuroka stood up from the edge of the bed after putting her sandals on. "Ne, Ryu-chan, I wanted to tell you about something…" Ryu turned to face Kuroka after hearing the playful and also serious tone in her voice. She gave a smile at her brown haired lover and continues, "I think you should accept any feelings of the women that would fall in love with you. You can still reject the ones that don't meet your expectations, but make sure you have the women that do, nya~!"

Ryu looked like he was about to enter a debate on life. Kuroka, however, beat him to it, "You have to think about a girl's feelings, Ryu-chan." She spoke with such softness that made Ryu's tense stance relax. "Imagine how sad and depressed they would be if you were to refuse those that were made for you, you should take them into your heart if you can." Now he was really thinking about it when she put it in that way.

'Will I ever see you again?'

Kuroka shook off the still strange sensation of being able to "hear" Ryu now and nods. "Yes, I'll be here quite often when no one is around to blow my cover." That's when she approaches Ryu and leans in…

_**Chu~**_

A soft, warm feeling spreads across Ryu's body as his first kiss in his mature self was taken. He kisses back with as much love as she is putting in. The two part from their kiss with a trail of saliva that connected itself to their lips and separates soon after. "I'll always be with you when you need me, Ryu-chan~" Kuroka winks and heads out of the room.

Closing the door behind her, she takes note of her sister, Shirone, standing there with her arms crossed under her chest. Kuroka jumped in absolute surprise.

"Nya, Shirone! I'm glad to see you, but how long have you been here?"

"Since the part of telling him to pretty much have a harem."

"Oh... Nya..."

"Why did you tell Ryu that? You know he's going to take it to heart."

"Think about if it wasn't us who he met."

"!?" Shirone let out a gasp at the very thought.

"Yes, that's right; he would be in love with the one he met only and refuse the love of others. Imagine if those others were us, Shirone." Kuroka reasoned with her little sister in an uncharacteristically serious fashion.

Shirone looks down and sighs. "In some twisted way… You're right… I get your reasoning and I'll go with it…" Kuroka's original self returns with a big smile and hugs her little sister. After a few seconds, the white Nekomata shakes her head and hugs her sister back with a smile of her own. A moment later, they broke the hug.

"And also... Ryu would work even harder to show us love if he gets a harem, nya~!"

Shirone blinked and drifted deep in her imagination to picture it.

* * *

_**Shirone's Daydream**_

_Ryu was surrounded by random girls that he give affection for. All but herself. That is when he goes to her and cups her chin with his finger. "Forgive me, my adorable kitten. I did not wish to bring you pain your heart. Please, tell me in whatever way I can receive your forgiveness." The first year Youkai dreamily stares at the bishounen. "Oh, Ryu..."_

**_End Daydream_**

* * *

And from there, she began to have images of Ryu and Shirone doing... Very intimate things together. All the while with a straight face and a nosebleed. Kuroka giggled at this. "Did you have a daydream with you and him doing it in the end, nya? Did you ever even made the first move on him?" Shirone blinks out of her naughty dreams and rubs her blood away, not even daring to say a word as she blushes crimson red. "Nyahahahaha! You should do it soon, Shiro-chan~ By the way, I think I should introduce myself to the girl Ryu-chan saved, nya." Shirone nods solemnly and the two sisters head downstairs.

* * *

**Ending: Rolling Star by Yui**

**(Yume ni made mita you na sekai de arasoi no naku heiwa ni kurashitai) **Camera shows the streets and buildings of Kuoh City that had fast moving shadows of bestial and demonic looking creatures. Suddenly, a human shaped shadow carrying what seemed to be two swords, lunging at the other shadows and the camera panned to show it was actually Ryu jumping up high in the air and then slashed the screen with his swords.

**(****Mou gaman bakka shiterannai yo ****iitai koto wa iwanakucha****) **The screen split into three from the slashes and now shows Ryu jumping across rooftops with Asia on his back and Kuroka and Shirone following behind him, all of them smiling in joy.

**(****Kaerimichi yuugure no basutei****ochikonda senaka ni Bye Bye Bye!) **The scenery switches to show Rias and Sona playing a game of chess against each other in the ORC Clubroom and their Peerages doing other miscellaneous things or watching their Kings play.

**(****Kimi no Fighting Pose misenai Oh! ****Oh!****)** The scene swapped again to show Ryu standing in the middle of the streets at nighttime, now in his serious personality. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he leapt towards the screen and punches it. This caused it to shatter to small shards of glass.

**(****Yume ni made mita you na sekai wa ****arasoi mo naku heiwa na nichi jyou!****) **Now it demonstrates Ryu blocking a punch from Dohnaseek and counters with a punch of his own to the face, knocking him away. Next, he ducks to avoid a kick from behind by Kalawarner and counters with an uppercut that sent her flying. Lastly, he launches a beam of bronze colored energy at Mittlet that destroyed the incoming light spears in the process.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa hibi to rabu te ****tama ni kuyandari shiteru) **Swiftly turning around, Ryu charges towards Raynare, his gauntlet at the ready and jumps in the air to reach her with an open hand and she responds to throwing a light spear at him.

**(Sonna ROLLING DAYS!) **The entire screen went white right after.

**(Short Instrumental) **_A short series of flashbacks of all the times he fought against his foes that included Stray Devils, Freed, and the Fallen Angels play in his mind._

**(****Kitto uso nante sou imi wo motanai no) **Ryu falls to the floor, the bangs of his hair covers his eyes, and blood littered his torn up clothes and body.

**(All my loving… ****Sou janakya yatterannai!) **Two hands are offered in front of him and looks up to see Rias, Kiba, Akeno, and Asia and the hands belonging to Kuroka and Shirone.

**(Yume ni made mita you na Sweet Love ****koibitotachi wa kakure ga wo sagasu no) **Ryu gladly took the assistance and stood back up on his feet.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa aenai hi ga****tsuzukinagara mo shinjiteru no Lonely days****) **Slowly raising his hand up, Ryu summons his Boosted Gear once more. The gem shines brightly and gives the white background made by the shining moon a more vibrant and beautiful color.

**(Tsumazuitatte Way to go! ****Yeah! Yeah!) **The group behind Ryu smiles at seeing him stand up and as he raised his armored hand up in the air.

**(Dorodarake ROLLING STAR!) **The screen soon becomes engulfed in a sea of green light by the gauntlet.

**End ending song**

* * *

**My God... Was that a big one to type. The main reason this took longer than I expected was the lemon. Speaking of lemons, did this finally satiate your need of a lemon "the renegade soldier" and "AidosX"? 'Cause I wasn't really planning on this chapter being the one to have a lemon. I'm not saying it's a bad thing or anything so no harm done. I know I needed to do it eventually. I was just nervous since it's my first lemon scene. So yeah. In a nutshell: First and unexpected lemon, nervous about said lemon, and curious as to how that lemon turned out. Also! Thank Kuroka for being the one to give Ryu the "OK" in being able to create a harem of his own! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you all later!**


	12. To The Familiar Forest!

**Random reader: Hey, Ryu! You achieved past **_**69 **_**Followers! You should make another lemon as celebra-**

**Me: SSSSHHHHUUUUUT UUUUUUUP!**

…**..**

**Pfft! Hey, readudes and readets (try not to chew me out for saying that)! Got another chapter for you all! "Holy shishkabobs! That was fast!" Yup, decided to make this chapter just shortly after the last one like usual cuz I can. Not like there's anyone that does **_**not **_**want fast chapters that still retain (hopefully) good content, right?**

**Moving to a more serious subject… I wanted to thank you all. Thank you for reading this story, taking the time to follow it, favorite it, or leave a comment! Or all of the freaking above! Seriously, I have over 9,500 views!**

"_**IT'S OVER 9000!"**_

**Shut up!**

… **Hahah… Ehh… But really, thank you all so, so much! All those views showed me that so many people are really interested in it! And when I saw the views on each chapter, my mind fudging exploded!**

**Really… Thank you all.**

**And with the sappy-soppy sentimental speech out of the way… Reviews!**

**Piemaster981: Nah, it's just the Devils and Fallen Angels that are attracted to raw power in my story. I know that the "attracted to power" thing was used in the original show just so Issei can have an **_**easy mode**_** in getting women. In **_**my **_**story, they're attracted because of his natural charisma.**

**Guest: Um… The cliffhanger stopped being a cliffhanger when I updated the 11****th**** chapter. I update pretty fast so… I don't see the harm I've made by putting that cliff up. Well… Maybe one or two more cliffhangers will be made in the future, but that's it.**

**BANKAIZEN: Why thank you very much!**

**The renegade soldier: More sexy words and screams, huh? Hmm… I could do that. I'm also sure it was my first time making a lemon. I just edited the lemon scene in the previous chapter with what you recommended. It's not much, though the little added details are there if you want to reread it. I can only tell you that maybe one or two more lemons will happen before this volume ends. Again, I want to take relationships to a realistic pace even if Shirone and Kuroka knew Ryu beforehand.**

**AidosX: Whoa there! Calm down! Heheh. I guess it means my lemon was at least adequate for my first time!**

…**..**

**That sounded a bit, uhh..…**

**Er… Anyways! Check out my profile! I have finally managed to make a list of OST's for my story out of other soundtracks that I managed to put together (even if I didn't make ANY of them…)! Chapter will be longer than 5k from the character introductions and descriptions that are going to be made among other stuff and it will be more on the comedic relief after all that serious stuff happened.**

**Don't own Highschool DxD!**

"I refuse to give up!" – Speech  
_"I can't keep up…" – Thoughts/Flashbacks speech  
__'Let's do this, Ddraig!' – Ryu "speech"  
__'Please, lend me your power!' – Ryu "thoughts"__  
_**[Hang in there!]/[BOOST!] – Ddraig speech****  
****_[Through the thick and thin, partner.] – Ddraig thoughts/Flashback speech_**

* * *

**Opening: Sympathy by Larval Stage Planning**

**(Tomo ni mou ichido tachiagare ****mamore hitotsu no inochi…) **The camera shows Ryu landing on the ground and narrowing his eyes at the Peerage of Riser as they prepare themselves for combat. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he charges at them and the green gem begins to glow.

**(****Tayasanu yo niiii!) **The glow stopped and the upcoming clash is replaced with the picture of the Boosted Gear itself across the screen horizontally and the title appears in the middle.

**_"古伝の竜守る Vol 0: 不羈 (Legend of the Dragon Protector, Vol 0: Freedom)"_**

Then the gauntlet and title turn to shiny green particles.

**(****Futatabi otozureta yoake ni me ga samete kimi wo omoi dasu yume no tochuu) **The particles vanished to show the ORC Club and scrolls from left to right to show Rias to Kiba, Akeno, Asia, and finally to Shirone and Kuroka. All of them smiling towards the camera.

**(Me no mae no zanzo susumanai ashidori ****toozakatte yuku hiriki na boku) **Once more, the scenery switched to the Student Council Room and scrolled from right to left this time to show Sona, Tsubaki, Saji, Momo, Reya, Tsubasa, Rukuro, and Tomoe, all smiling at the camera as well.

**(Taisetsu na mono wa doko ni aru? ****Ashita wo shinjiru nara wasurenaide!) **The screen returned back to Ryu charging towards Riser's Peerage and the camera panned to the females and zooms past them and closes in on Riser's smirking face.

**(Ima koso saa inochi wo kakete susumi dasu toki****omoi ga tsuyoi hodo tsuyokunaru!)** Ryu dodges, parries, and counters the attacks of the servants in the Phenex's Peerage and heads straight for Riser after dealing with the females.

**(Hengen suru tsugihagi darake no risou dewa****sugu ni kiete shimau kara!) **Riser flies up in the air with his fire wings and Ryu follows suit with his energy being released through the sole of his feet and shoes and clash high in the sky with fist against fist, kicks against kick, and yellowish colored fires against copper colored lasers.

**(Towa e tsuzuku kawasu chikai****furue dashita karada no soko kara!) **Ryu slowly held up his Sacred Gear and the jewel shines once more with a light so intense that made Riser cover his eyes from its intensity. Red flames spread around Ryu's entire body and an armored silhouette slowly makes it appearance within the flames with emerald green eyes piercing through the red fire.

**End opening song**

* * *

_**School Time – First Break, ORC Building: Ryu, Asia, and Rias w/ Peerage**_

This past week has been hectic for the young protector. The week before, he saved Asia from dying and Kuroka herself saved Ryu from dying. After the um…. Coughintercoursecough with Ryu and introducing herself to Asia, they ate dinner. It was all great and the four got to know each other better. Better yet, Kuroka and Shirone stayed in for the night to sleep with our brown haired protagonist. Asia slept in the guestroom next door.

When they woke up, Kuroka was already gone with leaving only a letter. It read exactly as this:

"_Gomenasai, Ryu-chan and Shiro-chan. I needed to return to my sensei after doing what I needed to do. Thank you for the food and letting me sleep with you two, nya~ I hope we get a chance like that again!"_

It was naturally a bit disheartening for the three in the Mamoru Residence. They understood either way and decided it was best to not think too heavily on who Kuroka's "sensei" is.

Ryu and Ddraig had some things to discuss with her too. Maybe she left to avoid those questions too?

Welp, all things considered, Ryu and Rias already enrolled Asia into the second year class with Yuuto. She was pretty happy she was able to go to such a well-known school with Ryu in that same school to boot.

Aaaannnd… Because of her purity and innocence, she simply blurted out that she was living in the same house with Ryu.

That got him some nasty reactions. Mostly on the female side. There were the males wanting Ryu to suffer too.

But the females were worse.

They finally raged in jealousy from Ryu having so many women on him and all of them happened to be the hottest of women.

They chased him.

All over Kuoh City…

'_Thank God for my freerunning skills!'_

Yeah… Ryu has bear witnessed the fierce determination and horrifying anger of fangirls that day.

Digressing from the subject since it's becoming off-topic, Ryu and Asia sat on one of the couches, next to each other. Akeno was also sitting next to Ryu. Kiba was sitting on the opposite couch and Rias sat on top of her desk.

"And Shirone?" You could perhaps wonder?

She… Got bold, to say the least.

She's sitting on his lap, purring and cuddling against his pectorals.

Um… Moving on.

"Familiars?" Rias nodded at Asia's question. "Yes, there is a realm; a forest specifically, called 'Forest of Familiars' or 'Familiar Forest.' All of the Devils use them to obtain their own Familiars. Humans, Fallen Angels, and even some Youkai use it also. We Devils are just the ones to use it more." Asia's mouth was hung open and let out an awed sound.

Ryu was quite curious on why they needed Familiars. He obviously voiced his mental question to Rias, 'Why do you need Familiars?' Rias smiled at the question. More like smiling that Ryu asked her at all instead of Ddraig or the others. It showed her that he was still willing to be able to talk to her and be near her even after knowing everything that she did and how Kuoh City was her territory as well as Sona's.

Honestly? She was very scared that she almost urinated from fright that night he grabbed her by the throat and _dared _to look at him in the eyes. Even without Killing Intent or power released through those eyes, they alone struck fear or hesitance on the ones they were directed at.

Truly, it was a phenomenon that could not be explained. There were obvious abilities that created effects such as that from a simple stare, but he was from a normal family with only his Boosted Gear and no abilities or powers are used to just make someone from just a glance. Even for her, a King. One time, Akeno got in his line of sight of his eyes, originally staring at a Stray Devil, and she _stopped _inher tracks for a split second. She stated to Rias that her masochistic _and _sadistic side _feared_ his deathly serious eyes instead of taking pleasure or challenge from it.

That's terrifying if the gaze can do that to even Akeno.

When it's his standard, shrunken eyes, it's fine and Rias is not bothered while Akeno takes the usual pleasure from it. It's when he's going to fight in a battle that he knows only one will walk out of it alive is when his gaze is soul-piercing frightening.

"We need the Familiars for recon, fight alongside us, or just to send out pamphlets for the humans that want our assistance." Ryu then adopted a face of understanding and nodded. "And as repayment for having to you, Ryu, for what I did to you and Asia, for being a main factor for Asia being nearly killed all for my mistake, I want to help you get any Familiars."

Yes, if one actually thought even deeper in Rias' mistake in using the Fallen Angels to try to get Ryu as her Peerage member, she was a main factor for Asia's near death. In neglecting their activity when she could have pretty much kicked them out of the city, they were able to continue their plans on extracting Asia's Gear.

Ryu smiled at the generous act and nodded with Asia also nodding.

Rias made a bat appear beside her in a poof of smoke. "Do you remember my Familiar?" **[It can switch between animal and bat form?] **Ryu and Asia had wide eyes of awe at Rias nodding and the bat turned into the woman with the stereotypical Devil custom from before. Rias released her Familiar back to wherever it originated from. Akeno smiled in excitement. "Here's my Familiar~" A cactus-looking imp appeared through a square-shaped magic circle. Ryu and Asia stared at it, now even more awed.

"Meow~"

Ryu blinked upon feeling something on top of his and looked up with his eyes to see a white cat with a bell on its collar. Shirone had to suppress a giggle at the sight. "That's my Familiar, Shiro." "It's so adorable~!" Asia pets the still young Neko Familiar, getting a purr in response. Kiba smiles at the adorable scene in front of him. "Would you like to see my Familia-"

_**Knock knock!**_

Everyone turned their attention to the door. "Come in, Sona." The doors open to reveal it was indeed Sona and her Peerage.

Momo Hanakai, Sona's Bishop, and a second year student. A woman with height that was around Shirone's. While on the subject of Shirone, Momo actually shared the same color as the Neko albeit longer and curlier that nearly reached to her mid back and two bangs that were in the front side of her torso instead of her back like the rest of her hair with the front of her hair cut in a straight line to prevent any hair to obscure her blue-green eyes. Her figure was as voluptuous as Shirone's if smaller on the chest department, but still big nonetheless and she gave off a compassionate feeling towards the ones around her.

Reya Kusaka, Sona's other Bishop, and also a second year student. Brown eyes with matching color hair which was contained in two, simple, and back-length braids that is further contained by a blue headband. The hair on her forehead, however, was not contained and passed her eyebrows. Her figure's height around Momo's and leaned more on the slim side and her breasts were smaller than Momo's. That did not take away that any of the beauty and kind aura Reya held though.

Tomoe Meguri, Sona's only Knight currently, and another second year. Tomoe has reddish-brown hair that was… It can't exactly be said that it was messy. It was wild, not messy. Most of her hair was contained in two large, puffy and shoulder-length pigtails. And the hair on the front looked like it was swept across in more ways than one and it only bolstered the wild look to it, the length just about eye level. Her eyes only contained the brown color unlike her hair that had the addition of the color red. She was lacking in terms of development on the chest with her height being one of the smaller ones in the Peerage of the Sitri Heiress, around said Heiress' height, but those features actually added to her unique, hyperactive charm and atmosphere she had. Oh, was it mentioned that her hair had a tiny, tiny strand of hair that stuck out? Because she does.

Tsubasa Yura, also Sona's only Rook at this current time, and the last second year female in the Sona's current Peerage. Her hair was a rare and natural blue color that reached her shoulders and her bangs were simply straight with some strands and bangs curving just slightly here and there like the one in between her eyes. Speaking of eyes, hers were also blue like the hair. The blue haired second year had an athletic build and height that rivaled Ryu's with a rebellious, somewhat boyish face that created the tomboyish appearance and backed up by her own tomboy personality. Her breasts _seemed_ to be around Asia's breast size though they looked… Held back, to put it in easier terms.

Last, but not least, there was Ruruko Nimura, first year and Sona's Pawn. Ruruko is most definitely the smallest of the Peerage given that she's a first year. Like Asia, Ruruko has green eyes. Also, she has brown, waist long hair that looked immensely smooth and kept in two ponytails assisted with two, green hairclips. Out of all of them, she had the most petite and yet to develop body. But… Her legs were something that were highly developed and even if they were smooth and attractive, they had a hidden suggestion that she has some major leg muscle. The air around was definitely upbeat and her figure added to that.

And of course, Sona Sitri, the King with Tsubaki Shinra, the Queen. They were introduced earlier (in the first few chapters that are now edited). No need for introductions for the two now.

Both Sona and Tsubaki's eyes lit up at seeing two new faces in the ORC Clubroom. "Rias, you never told me that you were about to reincarnated Ryu and Asia." Sona didn't feel the connection between an Evil Piece with the King. In this case, Ryu and Asia to Rias. The natural assumption was that her childhood friend planned to reincarnate them.

Rias let out a sigh and shook her head in the negative manner. "They are and will not become my servants. Ryu and Asia wish to stay human." Sona's eyes shot right open along with the other Peerage members. They could not believe someone exuding High Class level aura was human when Sona and Tsubaki were informed by Rias of Ryu having no possible supernatural connection right after Ddraig told the red head about it.

Sona was respectful enough to only peer inside Ryu's school records _only_ _and not anything more unlike Rias did._

"Phew! Sorry I'm late, kaichou!"

Oh wait, there was one last Peerage member in Sona's group.

_This guy_.

Saji Genshirou. Second year. He was a bit shorter than Ryu, perhaps Momo and Shirone height. He had neck long, dirty blonde hair that curved by the tips around the sides of his head at an entire 90 degrees or around that calculation. Like Kiba, he had grayish blue eyes. He had an average built with no muscles showing or anything out of the norm with any part of his body. The attitude around him mostly said arrogance and fear. Fear towards his master, but some affection with it too.

Saji walked in, looking sheepish and apologetic. "Sorry for taking so long." Sona shook her head to reassure him. "It is fine, Saji." Sona turned to Ryu and Asia. "One of the two reasons we are here is to introduce ourselves to you as Devils and thank Ryu for his assistance." Ryu gently removed Shirone from his lap and stood up with Asia to be able to bow at the Sitri Peerage. Everyone in Sona's Peerage and Sona included bowed back.

Except Saji.

He was on one of his knees, in front of Asia, and holding her hand with his own. "My name is Saji Genshirou. It is truly a pleasure to meet such a fine maiden as yourself." Cue royal kiss on the back of Asia's hand. Asia blinks and smiles with her eyes closed. "It's nice to meet you too, Saji-san. My name is Asia Argento." Saji looks up and sees that sweet smile of Asia.

_**Pang!**_

An imaginary, pink arrow with a heart-shaped head and feathery wings on the fletching pierced Saji's chest, right where his heart is.

"_Kawaiiii!"_

In the line of sight of Saji's peripheral, he saw a hand extended to him for a handshake. Tracing the hand and arm of whom it belonged, he sees it belonged to…

"You're the Mute Heir of Kuoh!" Saji stood up with an accusing finger pointed at Ryu in a seeming instant. Ryu just tilts his head in confusion. Saji scowls at having to tell Ryu about his given title, "You're a third year student. Meaning, it's your final year for high school courses. That's why the girls call you the 'Heir.' You even managed to get the same scores or beat every single Devil here in tests, exams, and physical exams! And a freakin' bishounen!"

Ryu made an "Oh" mouth motion.

A few people in the room fidget at the mention of how Ryu finished any and all tests with perfection and then some and beat them to the dirt metaphorically.

Ryu certainly enjoyed school.

Saji, coughing in his fist to straighten himself out, mentally made sure to introduce himself to Ryu properly to be respectful in Sona's eyes to avoid her ire. "I'm Saji Genshirou, Sona's Pawn. It's nice to meet a fellow male Pawn that also goes to this school." Saji pointed at himself with his thumb as he introduced his own self.

(Cue: Awkward Moment)

Ryu tilted his head again in confusion and so did Asia and Rias with the addition of her Peerage. Sona sighed at the misunderstanding. "Saji… Ryu is no-"

"I heard you were strong, but I consumed _four _Pawn Pieces!" Saji held four fingers out in arrogance.

Tsubaki, Reya, Tsubasa, and Sona facepalm at Saji's ignorance. Tomoe, Momo, and Rukuro giggle at the scene unfolding before them. Sona, once more, tries to clear the confusion up, "Ryu-san is _not _a Dev-"

"It's obvious you weren't worth that many pieces…"

Shirone did not know whether to be mad or be amused. Kiba shook his head, smiling the entire time. Akeno giggles at the grave Saji is digging. Rias just frowned at the blonde Pawn's statement. The Gremory didn't agree with Saji's statement.

"And I wield an awesome Sacred Gear to boot!"

Ryu smiled at this and held up his notepad to say that he had one too. Saji just ignored it in favor of his boastful rant.

Sona narrowed her eyes and cleared her throat quietly. "Ahem…"

Everyone in Sona's Peerage except Saji paled when they saw Sona clearing her throat.

…..

"SAJI!"

(End with the sound of a record being scratched: Awkward Moment)

Saji, Ryu, and Asia jumped up in surprise from Sona's outburst. Sona adjusted her glasses. "Excuse me for Saji's ignorance and my outbursts, Ryu-san and Asia-san. Same to you, Rias." Rias just gives an understanding smile, "It's alright. Personally, it would cost all my eight Pawn Pieces and half or all of them would need to be Mutation Pieces if I could even try to reincarnate him. Asia is also a human like Ryu-kun." Saji's jaw dropped and his disbelief increased when Sona nodded her head in agreement.

"Are you serious, Rias-senpai?" Rias nods at Saji's question. The blonde haired second year rubbed his head. "Um…" Sona looks at Saji. "Do not worry, Saji; the next lesson you'll be taught will be to detect energy. As of now, Ryu isn't hiding his aura nor is he releasing it in a destructive manner. Perhaps that's why you cannot sense him if he isn't releasing it as an outward force." "Oh, okay…" Saji bows to the Peerage of Rias and Rias herself as well as Ryu and Asia. "Forgive me for my rudeness."

After the apology, Sona introduced herself and her Peerage properly to Ryu and Asia.

Once the introductions ended, Rias turned to Sona. "What did you come here for, Sona?" Sona adjusted her glasses again. "I was simply here to let you know I was leaving for a while to have Saji obtain his Familiar." Rias' eyes narrow to give off a competitive look. "What coincidence; I was going to do the same for Ryu-kun and Asia as repayment for their help and my mistakes."

Sona knew full well what her childhood friend meant by "mistakes," but still shot a competitive gaze back at Rias, "You are aware that the Familiar Master only arrives only once every full moon, yes?" Rias leveled her gaze with the Sitri Heiress, "How about a little competition to see who gets to go get their Familiar?"

Sona's eyes momentarily showed signs of shock and surprise. _Momentarily. _"Are you suggesting a Rating Game? Surely, you are aware that we are not adequate for that." Rias shook her head. "No, not a Rating Game. We don't need to participate in a Rating Game to see who goes to the Familiar Forest." Sona adjusts her glasses once more, this time the light reflects from the lenses, hiding her eyes. "What do you recommend?"

* * *

_**Kuoh Academy – Tennis Court: Ryu and co.**_

Right now, there were boys and girls alike sitting in the sidelines and all anxious for the match that shortly begins between Rias and Akeno against Sona and Tsubaki. The four were wearing appropriate tennis shirts that were sleeveless, short skirts, and shoes. Rias' was completely pink and Akeno's was entirely yellow. Tsubaki and Sona both were wearing white, short sleeved shirts, but Tsubaki's skirt was blue and Sona's was pink.

Ryu takes out his notepad to show what he wrote, "Would someone be kind enough to remind me why we are here?" Kiba, who is sitting next to him, explained the situation gladly, "Buchou and Akeno-senpai are competing against Sona-senpai and Tsubaki-senpai in a match of tennis. Should Buchou and Akeno-senpai win, you'll be able to get your Familiars before Saji gets to have his." Saji, who is sitting next to Kiba, scoffed at the idea of Rias and her Queen winning. "I'm sure Kaichou and Fuku-kaichou will win."

_**PIIIIIIIIII!**_

The sound of a whistle signified the start of the match.

The male crowd cheers at seeing the challengers' breasts bounce and panties flash as one team tries to outdo the other.

Shirone, who is sitting next to Asia, spoke up, "I am not so sure, Saji-senpai. The two Kings and Queens are both overall High Classes." Kiba nodded. Asia, sitting in between Ryu and Shirone, voices her question, "High Classes?" Kiba, again, nodded, "It's the expected level of power and one of the requirements if you want to become a High Class Devil and get your own Peerage. While they are not up to par in High Class on all aspects such as strength, speed, endurance, and magic, they are High Class on their overall abilities. Akeno lacks in strength and endurance, but her magic and speed are on par with High Class."

Shirone continued from Kiba's analysis, "Your Kaichou is similar to Akeno except she has endurance that is also High Class and your Fukukaichou is exactly at the same level as Akeno in every aspect." Kiba smiled upon taking it from there, "Rias, however, lacks in all the physical aspects for High Class although her magic is superior than all of theirs from her 'Power of Destruction' that pretty much vaporizes anything it touches."

The female crowd goes wild when Sona secretly used magic on the tennis ball and racket to score a point.

Since Ddraig noticed no one was listening in on the group's supernatural conversation, he decided to interject on the subject of the Bael and Gremory Clans' "gift," **[That isn't true about turning anything it touches to ash.] **Everyone but Ryu jumped in surprise and looked at the boy's hand. "Hey, what was that? A trick?" **[I'm his partner and "voice" when I can be. I am the one whom resides in his Sacred Gear. But what I am is not the subject we are speaking of.]**

The crowd only gets crazier when Rias did the same trick that Sona did to score a point for her team. The Queens soon follow this plan for winning.

Asia tilts her head in wonder, "Is it about Rias-senpai's power?" **[Yes. I know of the Gremory and Bael Clans' "Power of Destruction" and it is not what everyone believes.] **Kiba blinked at this revelation. "It isn't?" **[No, it is not. The two clans' natural trait is indeed powerful, but not a one attack victory. It is simply unstable magic energy in its most stable form. That is their specialty. This gifts them with more powerful and larger reserves than even other Pure-blooded Devils.] **Question marks appeared on the group's heads. The question marks vanished for Ryu and Shirone after figuring what he meant and Shirone dumbed it down for them, "He means that it is unstable and destructive magic energy that is able to be used and because it's so unstable, it makes their internal magic system grow faster in size too."

Some of the males pass out from nosebleeds at seeing their breasts bounce around so much and their panties being widely shown without the four knowing or caring and the added effect of them sweating that made their skin glisten even further did not help their imaginations from exploding.

Everyone else said "Ooohhh" at that. "Makes sense now." Kiba stated. "Perhaps it's because Rias only fought weak Stray Devils and not ones that are strong enough to fight against her magic." **[Precisely. If the opponent has enough endurance or a good grip on how to use their magic or a bit of both, the unstable magic can still be endured, backhanded away, or negated. Now if you will excuse me, I must retreat for now. The match is going to turn into a draw.]**

_**SNAP!**_

Just like Ddraig said, the match indeed ended in a draw from the net being ripped in half from Sona charging the ball with too much energy. Ryu finally sensed the use magic and the residue their magic left. Switching to his more serious mask, Ryu stood up and walked inside the tennis court. The four turned to him with curiosity.

That is… Until they saw his eyes and the disappointment in them.

"U-uhh… S-sorry about that, R-Ryu-kun..." Rias tries to calm down her male classmate.

Didn't help.

Nope, not at all.

_**BONK!**_

_**WHAM!**_

_**POW!**_

Everyone cringed when they witnessed Ryu whacking and bonking Rias, Sona, and Tsubaki on the head. All three have their eyes closed with pained expressions and their hands on their heads that have a big ball-shaped bump on top of them. All three saying, "Gomenasai, Ryu-san," fully aware what they did wrong and that was using magic in public for witless reasons and potentially put humans at risk.

…..

Ryu and Akeno stare into each other's eyes as they stand in front of the other. Silence and tension overtaking the atmosphere around them. Everyone stared at the two as much as the two were staring at each other.

…..

_**Tap tap tap…**_

The sound of Ryu's feet softly touching the ground with each step was heard by everyone as he walks away without hitting or even touching the Thunder Priestess at all. Akeno afterwards dropped to her knees, hair covering eyes, indigo lines of depression handing from her head. Ryu left an evil-looking note in front of the pained trio of females that he hit that said:

"_**For Rias, I'm confiscating your latest manga collection. Sona, I'm taking your favorite chessboard and chess pieces. Tsubaki, your romance novel. You'll get them back at the end of the day."**_

Just as fast as they finished reading them, the three slumped like Akeno with lines of depression on their individual heads that no longer had the bumps on them.

Everyone in Sona's Peerage and Rias' Peerage as well that were watching had slack-jawed and disbelieving expressions.

Saji was the first to speak.

"Balls… This guy has balls. I feel bad for despising him now and I'm afraid he'll do the same thing he's doing right now…"

* * *

_**Kuoh Academy – Gymnasium: Ryu and co.**_

After fixing the mess the two Kings and Queens made, Rias and Sona got a better idea to go inside and play dodge ball instead.

So now, here we had Sona's team in the normal gym clothing used in almost all of the schools while Rias' team had sweat jackets and sweat pants in their own color. Maroon for Rias, blue for Kiba, and green for Asia. Ryu personally made the blue and green sweat jacket and pants for Kiba and Asia. Kiba and Asia were immensely grateful for the gift.

Ryu wore his signature apparel that consisted of a white, short sleeved shirt with blue linings around the collar and two blue sleeves that extended out past the white sleeves and elbow joints, a gray and long sleeved jacket, black pants, and white running shoes (exactly what Akihito Mizuwa wears)

Except Akeno and Shirone. They were wearing the gym clothing. They looked a bit on the tight side too.

Why? Because Ryu. That's all that is needed to be said.

Said mute had given Sona and her team blue armbands with the Sitri symbol in them and Rias and her team red armbands with the Gremory symbol on them, including for Asia and himself. All of them equally thankful at the kind gesture.

"Are you prepared to begin, Rias?"

"Always, Sona."

_**PIIIIIIII!**_

And once more, the sound of a whistle being blown made itself known again by Reya who is going to referee the dodge ball match and even refereed the tennis match.

Ryu was the first one to grab the only ball and throw it at Rukuro and hit her shoulder with human strength to avoid inflicting pain. She pouts from being the first one out and leaves to the bleachers.

One thing went through their mind at that spectacle:

"_He's fast!"_

Tsubasa cartwheeled to the ball, picking it up halfway in the cartwheel, and threw it once she hit ground towards Yuuto using her Rook strength. Kiba barely dodged that ball with his Knight speed and caught it when it rebounded from the wall.

Ryu's emotional and mental mask switched to the more serious one again as his eyebrow twitched at seeing how this is already going to turn out. He was shocked how his blonde kouhai feigned a straight throw at Tsubasa, only to use his Knight trait to appear up in the air and actually throw the ball downwards at her, taking her out.

Momo picked it up next and used magic to enhance its velocity. Her target was Asia and it did hit the mark by grazing the nun's shoulder. Fortunately, Ryu knew this would happen and enhanced Kiba's and Asia's clothing to be durable against magic and force to at least not get hurt so the jacket remained intact. She went to the bleachers with a sad look on her face then smiled soon after and started cheering for the team.

Akeno grabbed the ball and jumped over Ryu's head whilst performing the splits in midair. Ryu blinked at this and observed his classmate throw the ball and still remain in midair. The former priestess threw the ball with the added strength portion of her Queen trait. It went too fast for Momo to dodge as a Bishop and hit her chest dead-on. The wind was knocked right out of her mouth and doubled over. Momo, filled with pain, she left to sit down and have Reya heal the chest pain.

Big breasts didn't help this time, did they? It was more painful since they are naturally sensitive too.

Ryu smiled and petted Akeno on the head. In response, Akeno closes her eyes and smiles at the heartwarming sensation she was feeling. _"Mmm~ I'm starting to like this more than pain~ I can see why Shirone enjoys this."_

_**Tap**_

The sound of a ball hitting Akeno's shoulder.

Ryu and Akeno blink as soon as they heard the whistle and see Tomoe in a throwing position and the ball fall on the wooden floor, instigating that she took advantage of the distraction.

Not bad, Tomoe. Not bad at all.

"Ara ara, Ryu-kun. It seems I'm out of the game. Good thing I was out and not you." Akeno gives a chaste kiss on Ryu's cheek and offered a wink before calmly walking to the sidelines with the others.

Oh yeah… She had a certain sway in her hips too.

Ryu did not know why he found that alluring.

Slowly picking up the ball, he looked at the opposing team's remaining members.

Tomoe, Saji, Tsubaki, and Sona.

On his side remained Rias, Kiba, Shirone, and himself.

'_The odds are pretty evened out.' __**[No, they are not. The Gremory has you on her team.] '**__I'm trying to at least restrain myself here!'_Ddraig let out a mental chuckle and cut off the link. _**[He truly is a host unlike any other.]**_

Back in the dodge ball battlefield, Ryu threw the ball with humane capabilities again at Tsubaki who caught it with ease.

This is where things got pretty intense. Tsubaki's form begins to glow light blue and throws the ball at the team. Everyone in team Gremory jumped away and as they were in midair, the ball began to glow light blue and head to Kiba. The Knight's eyes widened and got hit by the round object with such force that he hit the wall just above the bleachers and landed on it. The ball fell to the floor, signifying his defeat. The defeated second year in question looked just a bit winded, but mostly surprised above all else.

The ball landed on Gremory's side and Shirone was the one to have picked it up. Copying Ryu's form of playing, the Neko threw it at Tomoe with human strength. Tomoe jumped away to dodge yet…

_**Tap**_

It still hit her.

Reya blinked at the trick that was used and nodded in knowing what it was. _"Curve ball. Not a normal thing or possible to do in dodge ball. Then again, we're not normal ourselves." _Blowing the whistle to signal Tomoe's defeat, said Sitri Knight just shrugged with a smile and skipped off.

"It seems we're in a tie, Rias."

"It would seem so, Sona."

Sona threw the ball this that was charged with magic energy and her strength, Rias naturally caught it, using her own strength and magic to counter it.

"Impressive catch, Rias."

Rias' expression soured. "Who do you take me for!?" She threw it back at the opposing team. Surprisingly, it was Saji who caught it. He slid a few meters back from the force of the hit.

"Kaichou, I got this next one!"

Sona saw the quivering form due to catching the ball that was thrown by Rias at full force. Trusting her Pawn, she nodded to give the "OK" for Saji. The recently made Pawn stopped shivering after his body got used to the pain and grinned when seeing his target. Throwing the ball with shocking strength that is secretly enhanced by Sona and Tsubaki, the soft sphere hit its target.

_**BAM!**_

Ryu was hit with the force head-on and even crashed against the wall. No indentation, cracks, or impressions left on said wall, so that was a good thing.

The not good part, however, was the place Saji targeted.

"_**GASP!"**_

The collective gasps rung out throughout the room by everyone, but Saji and Ryu themselves.

"RYU!"

Shirone rushed to aid Ryu when she saw Saji hit her beloved.

In. The. Balls.

_**Tap tap tap**_

The shocked expressions turned even more shocked if possible when they saw Ryu walking back on the battlefield of dodge ball.

Holding the ball that hit him in his own balls.

Not even for a millisecond did he look fazed.

"WHAT!? ARE YOU WEARING SOME TYPE OF MAGICAL SPORT'S CUP!?"

Ryu tilted his head in innocent confusion towards Saji's question who blinked a few times.

Thoughts of most of the people in the gym?

"_Oh shit, his balls are indestructible!"_

_**DOOOOONNNNN!**_

Heavy Killing Intent flooded this entire room. Everyone looked at the source and their eyes were shot open at seeing it was coming from Shirone.

"**Ryu… Please… Give me the ball…"**

Blinking once more as his innocent self takes over and smiling innocently, Ryu handed the ball that was asked for. Shirone slowly turns to Saji and he took a step back with fear clear in his face. Letting out a snarl that no one expected to come out of the Rook of Gremory's mouth, she threw the ball at them.

Let's just say the game was over.

With the side of pained cries of a male that went all over the school to go with that game over.

* * *

_**Afterschool time - Dusk, ORC Building: Ryu and co.**_

_**Clink!**_

The sound of multiple teacups being brought together in a toast of victory.

"Excellent match, all of you. We won the game because of your efforts," Rias congratulated them. Kiba chuckled. "It was Shirone-san that did all the work in the end after that brutal hit Ryu-senpai took." Shirone's expression darkened and turned to look at Ryu to see how he's holding up. "Are you sure you're alright, Ryu? I heard being hit in that area hurts a lot for men." Ryu looked confused at Asia's worried filled question. 'Of course. Why do you ask?' Kiba laughed a bit and patted his senpai's shoulder. "You, my dear senpai, have nards of indestructible properties."

Poor Ryu was still confused.

He did say he trashed away the very sensation of physical pain. Quite sad upon thinking about it more.

"Ahem… There's a full moon tonight. That's the best time for us to meet the Familiar Master." Rias' face looked a bit troubled. "We'll have to write down the portal to the Forest of Familiars though. After all, only my servants can be transported through my family's magic circle." **[Understandable. Partner, it's about time I taught you the basics of making your own magic circle. I was going to teach you the same day that Fallen Angel attempted to deceive you. Of course, you were preoccupied with so many things that I did not want to trouble you with my lessons.] **Ryu looked ecstatic at hearing Ddraig was going to teach him another thing.

"To think that Ryu-kun's sensei is the Red Dragon Emperor himself." Rias smiled at the relationship between Ddraig and Ryu.

"I can see why he's so strong, fufu~" Akeno giggled in her hand with hidden intentions behind that giggle.

"If only I was just as fortunate. Hahaha." Kiba rubbed the back of his head.

"A dragon is teaching Ryu-senpai? That's so cool!" Asia had stars of awe that looked up to Ryu with inspiration.

Shirone looked down. _"Kuroka and I are the reason he has his powers. Because of his loneliness that my sister and I could have filled."_

If only Shirone knew the truth. If only all of them knew the truth.

**[Give us the symbol, Gremory. Partner and I will work on the connection.] **Rias nods and took out a pen and piece of paper to write it down and handed it to Ryu. He takes the piece of written paper with a smile. **[Take some steps back to give yourself some space.] **Ryu did as instructed. **[Now, focus your core.] **A brown colored aura surrounds Ryu like a fire as he concentrated on his magic. **[Condense it.] **His aura stops surrounding him like flames and condenses to make his body glow instead.

"Wait! You're actually going to learn to do that now!? That takes weeks, if not a month to do for a magician!" Rias protested. The others were taken back at this revelation that Rias made.

**[Ignore her. Focus that magic on your feet.] **A brown circle appears on the around the ground with Ryu in the middle. Everyone watched the phenomenon of Ddraig making the creation of a magic circle sound as if it was a simple step-by-step booklet and Ryu making it _look_ like it actually was. **[Let that condensed energy take form and shape inside the circle. It must come out naturally, not forced.]**

Inscriptions began to take form inside of the circle. First layer consisted of four dragon insignias etched in a north, east, west, and south order. North was colored brown like the rest of his circle while south, west, and east were not colored at all. South was only outlined in green, west outlined in volcanic orange, and east outlined in the color silver. Second layer was filled with the actual dragon language with the four colored insignias that were also in the dragon language in the same order like the ones in the first layer. Third layer had four drawings in that similar order to the first layer and only the north one had the eligible drawing that looked like a dragon that had the body structure of a human while the others were completely distorted and blurry, outlined only in their respective colors.

That is truly strange.

The center looked like a fire in the shape of a dragon. But the fire… Looked like it was obscuring something.

It's as if the magic circle was symbolizing something and it didn't want to show it.

No one noticed Ryu's hair turn spikier and his eyes glow for only a brief second.

**[Strange…] **

As Ddraig said, it was truly strange. The Welsh Dragon was heavily absorbed in the style and inscriptions of the circle as well.

Rias shook her head twice to get the shock out of her system. "Th-that's impressive, Ryu-kun." The others also got out of their stupor.

'Awesome! I did it! How cool is that, Ddraig?'

**[…..] **No response from his dragon companion.

'Um… Ddraig?'

**[Hmm? Ah, forgive me, partner. I was-… I believed I saw something like this before the-…] **Another moment of silence and hesitance clear in Ddraig's tone. **[Forget what I mentioned.] **'O-okay. Sooo… Should we use my circle to transport us?' Shirone smiled and walked in the range of the circle. Seeing it was stable and safe, Kiba and Asia stepped inside as well. Rias looked a bit reluctant to step inside. "Come on, Rias~" Akeno gripped her King's shoulders _very _tightly and led her in the circle. Rias tried to subtly struggle free from her Queen's grasp. "Go ahead, Ryu-kun." Ryu nodded and used the drawing and his magic circle to begin the link.

* * *

_**Forest of Familiars…**_

A bright flash of brown engulfed the immediate area and Ryu, Asia, and the Gremory with her Peerage appear from it. 'Whoa… Awesome!' Ryu grinned as he took in his surroundings. Asia grabbed his arm out of fear. "Th-this place l-looks scary…" Kiba placed a hand on Asia's shoulder to ease the worry. "Relax, it's the place where we all got our Familiars."

"WHO WANTS ME!?

Everyone tensed and stared upwards to see someone up on a branch. The man looked like he was in his 50's sporting a white tank top, navy blue shorts, white running shoes like Ryu's, and a light blue sweater that was wrapped around his hips. Strangest part about his choice of fashion was the blue baseball cap he wore backwards, bangs and strands of his hair stuck out from the hole through the back (that now in the front) of the cap and the rest of his hair in a ponytail. His equipment consisted of just a yellow backpack used for hiking.

"THE MASTER OF FAMILIARS A.K.A. ZATOUJI!"

One blink.

Two blink.

Three blink.

"Oh wow! He's really high up!"

"If you've come to find Familiars galore, you've come at the right time that's for sure!" Pointing at himself, the self-proclaimed "Zatouji" continued, "The full moon's out to help you decide, and I'll be the one to act as your guide!" Zatouji made a "G" with his hands upon saying "guide."

Ryu claps enthusiastically when Zatouji finished his rhyme. Asia soon joined in on the clapping. Rias shook her head in exasperation, smiling though. Akeno, Kiba, and Shirone joined in on the clapping to get in on the fun.

Zatouji, hearing the claps, grinned at feeling his pride increase healthily. "Now how can I help you, for the two of you? Tell me all your wants and desires! A strong one, a fast one, one that likes to set fires?" Asia and the others stopped clapping. "Can I have a really cute and fun one please?" Zatouji gave a big grin with his eyes closed, "Fun? Done and done! How about you with the brown hair? Would you like one that's kind and fair?" Ryu blinked and took out his notepad, "I'm not sure if I'm ready for one."

Zatouji's eyebrows were raised at realizing he was mute. It was rare if not possible for someone to be mute in the supernatural when they can heal their vocal cords. "Are you perhaps a mute? How can that be when you have a lot of power to boot?" Ryu's face showed a flash of pain and wrote down on his notepad, "Rare phenomenon." "Hmm, are you sure you are not ready for a Familiar? There are many around here for you to consider." Zatouji jumped down and landed in front of the group.

"We'll just see, right?" Zatouji nodded at the mute's notepad. "It is true that your Familiar will appear only when you're ready. It is always wise for one to go steady." Rias looks at Ryu. "Are you sure, Ryu-kun?" Ryu nods to Rias' question. Zatouji, after sensing the two newcomers, gained another big grin, "Ah, humans just like me! It's a rare occurrence for me to see!" Ryu and Asia looked at the Familiar Master with wide eyes. "Let's not dilly-dally any longer, we have Familiars to see! We will then know which one for you is meant to be!"

* * *

_**Forest of Familiars – Mystical Lake…**_

"This lake is awesome, righteous and right. At the bottom you'll find magical sprites." Again, Zatouji rhymed-explained. Ryu blinked at how beautiful the lake appeared. Then a glow appeared in the middle of the lake.

A gorgeous woman emerged from the waters. She appeared to be below her mid-twenties. Clear, sky blue hair, a slender figure, modest sized breasts, a fair complexion, and a dress that is colorized like her hair. Her eyes opened up to show sky blue colored corneas. Her pupils fell upon the group, specifically Ryu.

Gasping at his aura and appearance, she speak with a sweet voice that flows like a river, "Oh my, aren't you an eye-candy?" Walking on top of the water, the water sprite holds her hand out to caress Ryu's cheek. "Looking for a Familiar? I could be the one to serve you. I'm quite… Flexible for any needs that you might have." The sprite gives a wink. Obviously, our hero did not understand the hidden meaning of it.

Shirone narrows her eyes and grabs him by the back of his jacket.

_**Fwoooo~**_

All that remained were comical dust clouds in the shape of Ryu and Shirone.

The sprite pouted and hmph'd towards the behavior of the white haired girl she saw.

Everyone else was dumbstruck. For Rias and Akeno, they were dumbstruck because Shirone took off with Ryu.

Something they were about to do.

* * *

_**Later…**_

The group caught up with Shirone and Ryu. Their main objective now is to simply find a Familiar for Asia and call it a night.

"Oh my… Look high!" The group did as Zatouji instructed and looked up.

A blue scaled and red eyed baby dragon on a tree branch.

"Hey, I hear those are pretty rare," Kiba stated. "I believe so. It's my first time seeing one after all," Rias reaffirmed. "It's so cute!" Asia gushed out. "Cute, but dangerous too. When they get angry, they have the power to shoot a lightning that's blue." "So, Asia, do you think this is the one?" Asia nodded after reading Ryu's recently written notepad. "I can feel it too!" Zatouji turned to face the entire group, "Do it now if you want this one claimed. Once a dragon grows up, it can no longer be tamed." Juuuust before they could approach it…

_**Drip drip drip…**_

_**Splash sploosh squash…**_

"Ahh!"

Kiba, Ryu, and Zatouji looked back to see what was the scream. Kiba, drawing his sword already, prepares to strike. "Green Slime!" Just when going for the kill, a piece of the slime falls on his face, effectively blocking his view.

Everything went downhill from there…

"Ah! My clothes!" Yup, the slime landed on the girls and started to burn their clothes off. Leaving only their undergarments on. No sooner, they began to cry and moan out in displeasure when it starts touching them it coughprivateareascough.

Except Akeno. She was enjoying it on the contrary.

And Shirone. She did not really say anything but glare at the slime.

As soon as Ryu saw this, his combat self takes over.

Every single one of his friends is in trouble.

He grits his teethand his aura flares up in a dangerous fashion that created cracks on the ground he stood, hair turning spikier than messy, and his eyes turned to a brighter brown, bordering glowing and shining. The slime picked up the threatening aura and slid off of everyone in favor to escape the thick atmosphere created by Ryu. After feeling the slime off of them, the Peerage and Asia sigh in relief.

Excluding Akeno.

"Eating off clothes is this random power of this weird slime. Fun for a while, but in the end, a waste of time."

_**STOMP!**_

Everyone's eyes widened, but Ryu at feeling a great, big stomp made. Turning around, they saw a giant, green monster made out of the same slime.

"Never before have I seen a slime do this before. This seems like it will be a major chore."

Ryu was the first to act.

**[BOOST!]**

After summoning his Boosted Gear, Ryu jumps into the air and launches several punches at the gelatinous freak. The effects and results were poor sadly.

_**BOING!**_

Ryu lands back on the ground from the force bouncing him back and frustrated that normal attacks won't work.

That is, until noticed something.

Green, draconic symbols on the places he punched the monstrosity. Exact same spots. Looking down on his Boosted Gear, he took note of the red flame on the armored index finger. On instinct, Ryu…

_**Snap!**_

Snapped his finger and the symbols quickly turned red.

**[CRIMSON RAZE!]**

_**BOOOOOM!**_

Heavy, red colored explosions consumed the giant blob of green to oblivion and making everyone cover their eyes at these sudden explosions. Fortunately, the spell only destroyed the slime and not the area nor friends.

After the red particles vanished, everyone uncovered their eyes. "Whoaa… Ryu-kun… What was that?" Asia turned to Ryu to see him equally shocked. He honestly did not know what happened either.

Inside the Boosted Gear, Ddraig had wide eyes that kept having spasms from the inability to get any wider and from pure shock. _**[That… Was my own technique…! How did he… Get to use it…? I was only able to use my techniques such as "Crimson Raze" and be able to use all of my powers before the time of **__**that**__**. How is that possible for him to use it?]**_

After everyone remained composure, Asia managed to befriend and bond with the Sprite Dragon. She even named it Rairyu (Lightning Dragon) after Ryu himself. In the end, Ryu and the others celebrated this with some cake and milk back at the ORC Club until it was time for Ryu to take Asia home with Rairyu. The dragon seemed to have taken a liking just as much as he took a liking on Asia too. Big shocker (ba dum tss).

* * *

**Ending: Rolling Star by Yui**

**(Yume ni made mita you na sekai de arasoi no naku heiwa ni kurashitai) **Camera shows the streets and buildings of Kuoh City that had fast moving shadows of bestial and demonic looking creatures. Suddenly, a human shaped shadow carrying what seemed to be two swords, lunging at the other shadows and the camera panned to show it was actually Ryu jumping up high in the air and then slashed the screen with his swords.

**(****Mou gaman bakka shiterannai yo ****iitai koto wa iwanakucha****) **The screen split into three from the slashes and now shows Ryu jumping across rooftops with Asia on his back and Kuroka and Shirone following behind him, all of them smiling in joy.

**(****Kaerimichi yuugure no basutei ****ochikonda senaka ni Bye Bye Bye!) **The scenery switches to show Rias and Sona playing a game of chess against each other in the ORC Clubroom and their Peerages doing other miscellaneous things or watching their Kings play.

**(****Kimi no Fighting Pose misenai Oh! ****Oh!****)** The scene swapped again to show Ryu standing in the middle of the streets at nighttime, now in his serious personality. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he leapt towards the screen and punches it. This caused it to shatter to small shards of glass.

**(****Yume ni made mita you na sekai wa ****arasoi mo naku heiwa na nichi jyou!****) **Now it demonstrates Ryu blocking a punch from Dohnaseek and counters with a punch of his own to the face, knocking him away. Next, he ducks to avoid a kick from behind by Kalawarner and counters with an uppercut that sent her flying. Lastly, he launches a beam of bronze colored energy at Mittlet that destroyed the incoming light spears in the process.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa hibi to rabu te ****tama ni kuyandari shiteru) **Swiftly turning around, Ryu charges towards Raynare, his gauntlet at the ready and jumps in the air to reach her with an open hand and she responds to throwing a light spear at him.

**(Sonna ROLLING DAYS!) **The entire screen went white right after.

**(Short Instrumental) **_A short series of flashbacks of all the times he fought against his foes that included Stray Devils, Freed, and the Fallen Angels play in his mind._

**(****Kitto uso nante sou imi wo motanai no) **Ryu falls to the floor, the bangs of his hair covers his eyes, and blood littered his torn up clothes and body.

**(All my loving… ****Sou janakya yatterannai!) **Two hands are offered in front of him and looks up to see Rias, Kiba, Akeno, and Asia and the hands belonging to Kuroka and Shirone.

**(Yume ni made mita you na Sweet Love ****koibitotachi wa kakure ga wo sagasu no) **Ryu gladly took the assistance and stood back up on his feet.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa aenai hi ga****tsuzukinagara mo shinjiteru no Lonely days****) **Slowly raising his hand up, Ryu summons his Boosted Gear once more. The gem shines brightly and gives the white background made by the shining moon a more vibrant and beautiful color.

**(Tsumazuitatte Way to go! ****Yeah! Yeah!) **The group behind Ryu smiles at seeing him stand up and as he raised his armored hand up in the air.

**(Dorodarake ROLLING STAR!) **The screen soon becomes engulfed in a sea of green light by the gauntlet.

**End ending song**

* * *

**Ack! I gotta stop making my chapters so long! Even if the character descriptions are excluded, it's still over 7.3k words! Whatever… I just wanted to ask a quick question before I end this chapter…**

**Do you think I should make opening and ending sequences?**

**I've wanted to do that for a while now and I already have songs picked out. Some American, some Japanese. You know, try to get a little diversity here and there. It wouldn't slow me down anyways. I just make it, edited on this chapter and the previous ones (excluding the first chapter), and that's it.**

**I'll leave the choice to you readers. I just thought I should do it since I already have made an OST list going on for my series.**


	13. The Calm Before the Firestorm

**I'm sure most of you know what's gonna happen next chapter judging by this chapter's title, huh?**

**Two things: First, the opening and ending sequences: Since the idea is more on the positive than negative or even a lack of negatives, I'll start putting up the openings and endings for this volume and future ones too! Secondly, the reason I changed this story to "Vol: 0" is because this isn't a real volume to me. It's a repetitive scenario no matter how you look at it, including crossovers. But… It's one way to start off my character's powers and to start off my story. It's also a chance to let the supernatural know that the man named Ryu Mamoru exists. The plot points I made _will _happen after this volume!**

**Reviews!**

**AidosX: Plausible and good assumption, I'll give you that. Sadly, you're wrong. It's something else entirely.**

**Blazedragon94: Less detail? More detail? And thanks for the compliment on his character and personality(ies)! About his secret past… Aahhh… Nah, not even a hint. Sorry!**

**Tmax99: Thank you once again. Keeping them long? Umm… Maybe? I know around 5k is pretty long and yes! Openings and endings creation here I come!**

**Piemaster: Uhh, God? (Scratches head) Um… No comment to that remark. And yes, I got the cat joke.**

**In this chapter, you shall see a part of Ryu you would not expect. Oh, and strengthening the bonds he has with others.**

**Again, I don't own Highschool DxD. Enjoy.**

"I refuse to give up!" – Speech  
_"I can't keep up…" – Thoughts/Flashbacks speech  
__'Let's do this, Ddraig!' – Ryu "speech"  
__'Please, lend me your power!' – Ryu "thoughts"__  
_**[Hang in there!]/[BOOST!] – Ddraig speech****  
****_[Through the thick and thin, partner.] – Ddraig thoughts/Flashback speech_**

* * *

**Opening: Sympathy by Larval Stage Planning**

**(Tomo ni mou ichido tachiagare ****mamore hitotsu no inochi…) **The camera shows Ryu landing on the ground and narrowing his eyes at the Peerage of Riser as they prepare themselves for combat. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he charges at them and the green gem begins to glow.

**(****Tayasanu yo niiii!) **The glow stopped and the upcoming clash is replaced with the picture of the Boosted Gear itself across the screen horizontally and the title appears in the middle.

**_"古伝の竜守る Vol 0: 不羈 (Legend of the Dragon Protector, Vol 0: Freedom)"_**

Then the gauntlet and title turn to shiny green particles.

**(****Futatabi otozureta yoake ni me ga samete kimi wo omoi dasu yume no tochuu) **The particles vanished to show the ORC Club and scrolls from left to right to show Rias to Kiba, Akeno, Asia, and finally to Shirone and Kuroka. All of them smiling towards the camera.

**(Me no mae no zanzo susumanai ashidori ****toozakatte yuku hiriki na boku) **Once more, the scenery switched to the Student Council Room and scrolled from right to left this time to show Sona, Tsubaki, Saji, Momo, Reya, Tsubasa, Rukuro, and Tomoe, all smiling at the camera as well.

**(Taisetsu na mono wa doko ni aru? ****Ashita wo shinjiru nara wasurenaide!) **The screen returned back to Ryu charging towards Riser's Peerage and the camera panned to the females and zooms past them and closes in on Riser's smirking face.

**(Ima koso saa inochi wo kakete susumi dasu toki****omoi ga tsuyoi hodo tsuyokunaru!)** Ryu dodges, parries, and counters the attacks of the servants in the Phenex's Peerage and heads straight for Riser after dealing with the females.

**(Hengen suru tsugihagi darake no risou dewa****sugu ni kiete shimau kara!) **Riser flies up in the air with his fire wings and Ryu follows suit with his energy being released through the sole of his feet and shoes and clash high in the sky with fist against fist, kicks against kick, and yellowish colored fires against copper colored lasers.

**(Towa e tsuzuku kawasu chikai****furue dashita karada no soko kara!) **Ryu slowly held up his Sacred Gear and the jewel shines once more with a light so intense that made Riser cover his eyes from its intensity. Red flames spread around Ryu's entire body and an armored silhouette slowly makes it appearance within the flames with emerald green eyes piercing through the red fire.

**End opening song**

* * *

**_Morning, Mamoru Residence: Ryu and Asia_**

Ahh~ It was a nice, clean, and beautiful Saturday morning. Birds were chirping. Sun's rays shining and blessing Kuoh City with its bright and warmness. Ryu, in his signature attire, cooking food with an apron on and Asia, in her nun attire that Ryu fixed, watches Kamen Rider Agito with Rairyu in her arms.

"Look, Ryu! You're like the main character, Shouichi!" Ryu turned his slightly to look at the HDTV. He blinked when he noticed Shouichi went from a shy, innocent guy to a fighting and tough character just from transforming to the golden western dragon, Agito.

**_Denial booting up… Booting up complete._**

Ryu rose an eyebrow at the bold claim and shook his head in the negative. Asia pouted adorably at the shake of his head.

**_Ding dong~_**

"I'll get it!" Asia gently placed Rairyu down. The Sprite Dragon took the hints acted lifeless like a plush doll. Ryu starts serving the food on plates. Today's breakfast was sushi. Ryu's personal favorite and apparently Rairyu's favorite too.

"Ryu, come here!"

Ryu blinked at the tone of urgency in Asia's voice and fast walks to the front door as he took off his apron.

The visitor was someone he did _not_ expect.

A blushing mess of Yuuma Amano A.K.A. Raynare. In her human appearance. Wearing a white blouse, blue jean shorts, and a pair of black shoes. She even had the dragon bracelet that Ryu won for her way back then when they went to the carnival.

His personalities are in turmoil already.

"R-Ryu-k-kun! U-um…" The hesitance, fear, and nervousness were all clear in her voice and body language.

**[Speak clearly.] **Ddraig did not bother to sound menacing at all and opted with being neutral and straightforward.

"Uhh…" Raynare bows at a complete 90 degree angle. "Please forgive me for my actions!"

That took them by surprise. Even Ddraig did not expect that and that's saying something! Ryu scribbles on his handy notepad, "What?" Raynare straightens herself and looked down in shame. "I'm sorry for what I did. To both of you. Azazel-sama told us that our orders were actually to just watch your progress from the very start after the reports of you being the Sekiryutei reached him. But Kokabiel-sama twisted those orders around and told us to kill you and take Asia's Twilight Healing for our faction." Asia looked conflicted at the response. She was fairly aware of the supernatural as a former nun and former stray nun.

Ryu and Ddraig paused for a moment to sponge this information. After a moment, they begin to come to discuss this and maybe lead it to a consensus. _'Any comments on this, Ddraig?' _**_[I can safely assume that it was undoubtedly Kokabiel. What the Gremory's Queen said rang true and this only proved my suspicions. I'm merely stating facts. The choice in the end is up to you.]_**

Ddraig cuts the link between the Gear and the wielder's mind to let him think about the situation at hand. He holds up the notepad to show Raynare what he wrote, "Why are you apologizing to us?"

Raynare steeled her nerves and stares at the eyes of Ryu's that have their pupils so small, they could be considered nonexistent. "Azazel-sama wanted to apologize and I also wanted to apologize to you too so I came here after asking him to let me." She fidgets around. Almost as if she had more to say but is reluctant to do so.

With complete and absolute indifference at this point, Ryu motions her to continue.

"A-and… IwaswonderingifIcanlivewithyou (Translation: I was wondering if I can live with you)!" She bows again at the two.

Ryu blinked and Asia fidgeted uncomfortably at this. "U-um… Why, Raynare-san?" Raynare stood up from her bowing position. "B-because I wanted to maybe help Ryu-kun around the house and uhm… Hopefully train me to fight better… Azazel-sama thought it was a good idea to learn from you and maybe… Repay you for sparing my life…" Not only were his personalities were in turmoil, but his train of thought too. Ddraig sensed the confliction in his partner and wanted to try to ease it up.

**_[If it helps you, partner; she is not lying. I sense no spike in her already erratic core that is most probably from embarrassment and I can sense she is holier than demonic and I do not detect a lie. You are also on a higher level than she is. No longer can she harm you and you can react faster than she can if the moment arises. The choice is, again, still yours.]_**

Ryu immediately perked up at that info. He poked Asia's shoulder to attain her attention and tell her what Ddraig told him. Asia looked pretty happy in hearing that and the two turned back to the nervous and frightened Raynare. Ryu took out his notepad again, "Okay. You can stay here." Raynare looks up at Ryu and Asia and hugs the two with shedding tears that have been waiting to be spilled the entire time. Their shock from that sudden hug turned to smiles and both hug the girl back.

"Grrowwlll~" Rairyu flew right in the middle of the hug-fest and snuggled in the warmth.

* * *

**_ORC Clubroom: Ryu and co._**

Raynare stood next to Ryu and Asia awkwardly. How can she not be? She is in the presence of the Gremory household and the current Lucifer _is _a Gremory. Said Gremory was rubbing her temples in a way to get rid of the headache she was having. Shirone has conflicting thoughts about the Fallen Angel being in the same room, Akeno looked like she was suppressing her sadistic side, and Kiba just kept reading the book Ryu lent him. The young Knight is confident his senpai had the situation under control.

"Let me get this straight: This Fallen Angel right here was the leader assigned to kill you and steal Asia's Sacred Gear. The same one you chose to spare." Ryu and Asia nod at this. "Then, she told you that the original orders were to only watch you by Azazel himself and Kokabiel molded those orders around to make them kill you and take Asia's Sacred Gear to make it seem like they were Azazel's orders?" Again, Ryu and Asia nod. "And after talking with Azazel about this accident, she apologized to you both, asked for permission to let her live with you, and you both allowed it?" With one last collective nod by the two Sacred Gear wielders, Rias shook her head. "You know I can't agree with this, Ryu-kun."

**[Doth my ears deceive me? Thou pots dare calleth the kettle black? (Translation: Do my ears deceive me? You pots dare call the kettle black?)]**

Rias and Akeno flinch at the dragon's words and could not find a rebut to his statement. Rias sighed after thinking about this from a broadened perspective. "I can't argue with that. Just… Make sure nothing bad happens. Okay?" Ryu had his corneas shrunken and took out his notepad, "I wasn't asking anyways." Again, she could not find a come back to what he wrote.

Corneas enlarging back to normal size, Ryu updates his notepad, "How about we hang out? Go places around the city and have fun." And no sooner than that, Kiba, Shirone, and Akeno were right next to him. How did they do that, Rias will never know. She at least smiles at the gesture. "Oh sure, that's fine. We'll need to get appropriate clothing though. It would be awkward to have our uniforms while out in the city on a weekend."

* * *

**_Kuoh City Streets_**

The group of high school students are right now walking aimlessly and thinking up ideas on what they could do for fun today.

"Any ideas in where we can go, Ryu-kun?" Rias asked her classmate. Rias wore a red shirt and blue jeans with her brown school shoes that she seems to take a liking to. Ryu responded with his notepad, "Go to the Kuoh Amusement Park?"

"Ara ara that's actually a wonderful idea, Ryu-kun." That came from Akeno and she was dressed in a tight yellow shirt that exposed her lean abdomen past her belly button with short jeans like Raynare's.

Shirone, wearing her white kimono, asked Ryu about something, "Ryu… Why are you wearing a cowboy hat?"

Right, right. A detail that was forgotten to be mentioned. Ryu is actually wearing a brown cowboy hat and showed his cleanly scribbled notepad to Shirone to answer her question, "I decided to check out the Mamoru Family Tree, my family tree, and traced it all the way to see it branched to other family members that were American and Mexican. All of them looped back to my ancestors being in the Old West."

Kiba, wearing a blue shirt, blue jeans, and white shoes, dawned with a look of realization, "I get it now. You're wearing it to honor your ancestry." Ryu nodded at his kouhai's deduction skills. "I have to say, senpai; the hat fits you and your normal clothes well. You look like a modern cowboy." Ryu grinned at the compliment.

Raynare and Asia picked up their pace to be next to Ryu and stared at his face intently. Ryu blinked at their closeness and invasion of personal space. The duo backed away with shocked looks and Raynare was the first to speak up, "It's true! The tan is his actual skin color and his facial structure is similar to an American's!" Everyone gasped at this discovery. Ryu did not really know why everyone acted like it was a big thing. Asia stared up at Ryu with twinkling eyes, "Are you Mexican-American, Ryu-senpai?" She tightly held her dragon Familiar and said dragon snuggled against the added strength. The public thought of the blue dragon as some plush toy so it was fine for him to be out.

**_[Feh… I can't tell whether to consider this amusing or redundant.]_**

Ryu somehow couldn't argue with Ddraig. Taking out his notepad, he shows what race(s) he is, "I'm American, Mexican, and Japanese." And again, they gasp at the diverse blood he carries. Ddraig sighed inside the Sacred Gear. The dragon could already tell it was going to be a long day.

* * *

**_Kuoh Amusement Park_**

The group arrived at the amusement park as planned. They looked around and stared at the games and rides they could take.

"How about the pendulum ride?"

"Ara~ The haunted house looks good."

"The Ferris wheel looks like a good place to go…"

"Uwaahh~ I'd like a plush toy like that for Rairyu and I to play with!"

"Hmm… The race cars look good. Maybe the bumper cars…?"

The whole group looked around the theme park and what it has to offer. Clearly, they haven't been in a amusement park in a long time or at all.

Disregarding that muse, Ryu smiled at seeing the group get excited. There was but only one problem with this trip… Shirone. Not actually Shirone, but the distance she placed between herself and the others. She seemed to have been in deep thought as soon as they reached the entrance.

'Are you okay, Shirone?' The question snapped her out from the thoughts that preoccupied her. "I'm fine, Ryu. You should go to a ride you want or be with the others. I still haven't decided." Ryu tilted his head at this. 'Why haven-'

"Ryu-kun~" Akeno grabs Ryu by his arm, sandwiching it in between her breasts. "Let's go to the haunted house~!" Using her super strength, Akeno takes Ryu away to the haunted house. Shirone waves at the two with a small smile.

* * *

**_Kuoh Amusement Park – Haunted House: Ryu and Akeno_**

"**_VROOM!"_**

"Ah~ Kowaii (Scary)~" Akeno snuggled up against Ryu's arm when she saw someone pop out from the wall with a fake chainsaw. She felt Ryu tense up at the man popping up and looks to the side to see her equally tall classmate have comical tears threatening to fall. She smiles a sincere smile at his childishness.

"Here…" She grabs Ryu's arm and places it around her shoulders accompanied by her own arms wrapping around his abdomen, her head rested against his chest. "Is that better?" Once Ryu sniffled and got rid of the tears, he nodded.

Somehow, that actually helped Ryu not be as afraid of the mechanical jumpscares or humans that pop out of random parts of the house as he was before.

"Ne (Hey), Ryu-kun? Why did you choose to trust a couple of Devils like us after what we did and even spare the Fallen Angels?" Ryu appeared to be in pretty deep consideration regarding those questions. He took out his notepad and and pencil to write down his reply.

"Aside the certainty that you have taken care of Shirone? It's because that you should be given a chance, even if you are the so-called evil creatures of the night. I shouldn't be judging a book by its cover and neither did you or the others do the same thing and you never attacked me and I'm sure you really did not carry crude intentions towards me by planning my presumed death. As to why I spared the Fallen Angels… They were deceived. I shouldn't put the blame on something they needed to obey at the time. I get what they did was wrong… But… They were just puppets."

Akeno gawks at him in astonishment. Then, she looks down. "Do you think that is what happened to a supposedly loving father who left their child and mother suddenly to go somewhere and the mother was killed by bad people right after?" Ryu, perplexed by that question, wrote down his comment to that, "If the father was genuinely kind… Um… It was probably set up then to get revenge on the mother or father. Because if it happened right after he left…" Ryu trailed off after writing "left." Tears flood Akeno's eyes and begin to fall from her cheeks in no time at all.

**_[Partner… She's crying…] _**Ryu tilted his head down to see Akeno indeed crying. Ryu thought it was from her actually being scared and hugs her tightly to comfort her. Not long after, they reached the end of the haunted house. "Thank you, Ryu-kun…" Ryu wiped her tears from her cheeks which she giggles at. "You are really and definitely the one for me, Ryu."

**_Chu~_**

Akeno gave a kiss on Ryu's cheek again. This time, it was soft, filled with pure emotion, and it lasted for quite a bit. She slowly and gently removes her lips away from his cheek. "I'll see you later after it's time to go perhaps?" Akeno walks away with such a blissful smile that it became contagious for the people around her.

"Ryu-kun!" Ryu blinks a few times at hearing his name called out. Twirling a complete 180 degrees, he detects Rias walking towards him in her usual calm and collected fashion.

* * *

**_Kuoh Amusement Park – Ferris wheel: Ryu and Rias_**

"Thank you for riding the Ferris wheel with me, Ryu-kun." Ryu nods happily at the gratitude shown. "It's really beautiful, isn't it? The view, I mean." He couldn't disagree with Rias. It was indeed beautiful. In the middle of the morning, going up the Ferris wheel, cool and clean wind, and a perfect view of Kuoh City and its buildings and greenery. Lucky for the two, the Ferris wheel stopped right at the very top, giving them the time to bask in its glory.

"I can see why you really didn't like Sona and I having claimed territory here, in this city. To just take something from under someone's nose that they built and created through blood, sweat, and tears." Ryu did not say (write) anything. "Thinking about it now, I look like one of those opportunists in those shows and mangas." She tilted her head down.

"I really made mistakes, haven't I?" Ryu didn't comment on that. "I understand if you don't write anything. I just-" Rias inhales and exhales slowly, "I just kept thinking I could take anything, I guess. Being the sister of a Maou and not even _a _Maou, but _the _leader of Maous and ruler over the Devil Faction and all." A small gleam flashed across his eyes as a way to show he is already predicting what is going to be said next.

"My brother pampered and catered to my every need as a child that I became spoiled. I suppose it began to affect my outlook and perspective on life. Take my Peerage members as an example. I simply came across them in their time of need and took advantage of it. Even tried to use the Fallen Angels to my advantage and get you." Ryu gently turned his head to look at his red headed classmate that is leaning against the safety bar.

"I really am a spoiled brat, aren't I? If you were a human that hasn't even activated your Sacred Gear and you didn't call me because you didn't want something like a Devil Pact… It would stay on my conscience forever. I would also be the reason why Asia wouldn't be alive to this day and living the life you offered her… I'm sorry, Ryu-kun." Rias started to cry soundlessly. Ryu watched as her tears spilled from her delicate cheeks.

**_[Partner. What do you think you should say?]_**

**_Paf_**

The sound of a hand placed on top of a head.

"Eh?" Rias looked up and saw a hand on her head and trails it back to Ryu who was grinning with his eyes closed and holding his notepad out, "Let bygones be bygones and I'll make sure Ddraig stops messing around on that subject too. In the end, I'm alive. Asia's alive. We're living our lives to the fullest. So no more tears." Ryu opens his eyes again and the grin shifts back to a smile as he pocketed his notepad to wipe her tears away and using his other hand to rub her head. "I can see why Akeno likes to be patted on the head." Removing his hand, Ryu took out his notepad again and hands it to her.

"Keep the territory for a little while longer. I know you don't use it for greedy intentions. But one day, I'll get strong enough to defend humanity and remove any territories on the human world. Doesn't matter if I'm doing it alone or with others, I'll make my own faction someday. A faction that is entirely for the protection for humans. They no longer need to suffer for the mistakes or greed of the supernatural. And when that day comes, I'll work on peace. The day where the supernatural and humans can co-exist."

Rias stares at Ryu with eyes that glistened in admiration. Ryu tapped Rias on the shoulder, getting her out of dreamlike state. That's when she notices they were near the bottom of the ride. "Oh, right. The ride is over."

The two got out of their seats and walked for a bit until Rias stopped in her tracks thus making Ryu stop too and turn to her. "Thanks again for riding the Ferris wheel with me, Ryu." Ryu nodded at the gratitude being given to him again.

**_Chu~_**

Rias kissed Ryu's cheek that held such passion and emotion, just like Akeno's and even lasted as long as the Priestess of Thunder's kiss. She gently pulled away and tenderly caressed the same cheek she kissed. "You're like the protagonists in the shows and mangas I've seen, Ryu. I just hope your ending is just like theirs too." That being said, Rias happily walked off with some skips being done every now and then.

"Ryu-senpai." Ryu recognized that voice and turned around to see Kiba behind him. Ryu responded in kind with a simple wave of hello whilst removing his hat and attaching it to the back of the gray jacket through the usage of two strings. Kiba gave his charming smile at the motion, "Nice to bump into you too. Speaking of bumping; would you like to join me at the bumper cars or mini car racing?"

* * *

**_Kuoh Amusement Park – Bumper Cars: Ryu and Kiba_**

**_Zoom!_**

"You're pretty good behind the wheel, senpai!"

**_Vroom!_**

"I used to come here quite often back when I was in the orphanage and a little bit after getting my own home."

**_Screeech!_**

"How are you writing and driving at the same time!?"

**_Crash!_**

"Experience, young one, experience."

**_Bump!_**

"I'm only a year younger than you and just two inches below your height!"

Ryu took up Kiba's offer and chose to go with the mini car racing over the bumper cars. Right now, they were competing against each other at a 10 lap race. Needless to say, they were neck-to-neck and winning over the racers by a landslide.

"Ninth lap, senpai! Are you sure you can win?" Ryu just grinned at the question and sped past Kiba. Kiba grinned as well and speeds off to catch up to his upper classman to attempt in getting ahead of him. They pass ahead of the competition for the _third_ time and before long, they make a photo finish.

The crowd went completely wild at the close race and yelled in anticipation to see who won.

The employees decide to play back the footage to see who won. The evidence showed…

"It's a tie!"

More cheers of the crowd! They really thought of this race as an actual race!

Kiba and Ryu removed their seat belts and got out of their mini race cars. The two competitors glanced at each other. "Nice one, Ryu-senpai." They shook their hands in respect and depart away from area.

"Kyaaa~! Kiba-kun! You were so cool out there!"

"Ryu-senpai was so handsome with his hair flowing in the wind so majestically~!"

"Can I have your autographs!?"

"Please marry me!"

"Have my babies!"

Slowly but surely, the only male members of the ORC stared deep into each other's eyes, both getting the message about the situation going to take a while to escape from.

* * *

**_Later…_**

"That took a while, huh?" Ryu tiredly nods. Kiba and Ryu had tattered clothed and messy mops of hair (or messier in Ryu's case). Not long ago did the duo of friends make it out alive from the evil clutches of fangirls. Precisely as stated; evil clutches. Using only their tactics and natural agility have they managed to obtain freedom.

For now.

"Senpai… Thanks, by the way." Ryu cocks an eyebrow upon hearing the out-of-nowhere gratitude. Kiba caught the subtle body language that spoke of confusion. "I don't mean by hanging out with me today, which I am thankful for. I meant by you being open with me. Someone you barely know." Kiba kneads his hair to remove any knots that it may have and to brush away the nervousness too. "We live in a cruel world, senpai and I mean by the supernatural. A world of dog-eat-dog. Akeno, Shirone, myself, and even you have witnessed it. And yet you still trusted us. Why do you think there are factions?"

**_[A good point he made, partner. It is not easy to trust others. I am positive you are aware why.]_**

Ryu scrubbed his messy hair and wrote down his answer.

"You didn't attack me from the get-go and you even go to school. What more is there to say? You have actually agreed to have me as a friend and ally too. I'm hoping to be allied with others to and make one, big alliance between everyone one day and stop this never-ending cycle of bloodshed and war. If you asked why I trust you enough to tell you I made a criminal decision by helping Kuroka and Shirone even if I didn't know that I did it, then it's because they suffered as much as I have and you have as well. You even trusted me with your own story."

Kiba chuckled at his senpai's response. "Quite the ambition you have there, senpai. I would have doubts about it if you haven't proven all those times in battle. You also have Ddraig, the being known to be the third strongest being up with his rival behind the two other big dragons. Thanks for that. I really am thankful to have met someone like you. Anyways, I better go. I should look for the others. Later, Ryu." With one last fist bump, Kiba left in search of his female senpais. This is when Ryu figured out something.

'_Wait… Rival? Ddraig, what did he mean by your rival? You never told me about you having a rival.'_

**_[… It is not the right time to tell you of the "White One," partner.]_**

'_Oh. Okay then.'_

"Ryu-san!" Again, Ryu finds himself turning around to find Asia behind him and she was snuggling Rairyu in embarrassment.

"U-um… C-could you… Please… Helpmegetanotherplushtoy (Translation: Help me get another plush toy)!?" Ryu was left momentarily stunned at the fast paced question. It took him a while to translate it in his head and he gladly nodded towards her request.

* * *

**_Kuoh Amusement Park – Game Booths: Ryu and Asia_**

Ryu points at one particular gaming booth, getting a nod from Asia. "Yes, it's that one. There's a big dragon plushy if you manage to shoot all of the target…" Asia trailed off, hinting she was not good with shooting games. Ryu nodded again and equips his cowboy hat back on his head.

A tan skinned man walks in from the other side of the booth. "Ah, howdy! Do you wish to try your shooting skill? Just hit all of the 12 targets and there are two modes to play it: Unlimited ammunition and have a 2 minute time limit or with unlimited time and have 18 shots? Be aware: The targets move and go even faster the more targets shot." Ryu gives a solemn nod of acknowledgement and placed down 400 yen to play. "Which mode, sir?"

Ryu smirked and held up one finger in one hand and two fingers in the other.

Old western showdown music goes on in the background.

The man behind the counter quirked an eyebrow at the bold sign language. "You seem to be someone of high caliber so no arguments there." The man placed a six shot revolver that was obviously a pellet gun on top of the counter and even placed down a holster for the gun. "In case you want to feel more like those in the Old West." Wasting no time, Ryu fastened the borrowed holster and placed the revolver in that holster.

"Phew…" Ryu exhaled deeply and nods one last time at the man who nodded back in confirmation. "Ready… Go." The targets began to move at a slow pace. In a near invisible speed…

**_Bang!_**

One target down. Taking one step back to add more challenge, he readies his firearm.

**_Bang bang!_**

Three down. Two more steps taken.

**_Bang bang!_**

"This guy is definitely no joke. He'll beat his own challenge before even a minute and a half is up. You're quite fortunate to have a boyfriend like him. Not many like him these days."

"E-eh!?" Asia blushed at the remark.

**_Bang!_**

"U-uhh… He's no-not… My boyfriend…" She pokes her fingers together a few times as she said this.

"Seriously? Well, that's some mighty tight friendship you have with him." The man quietly flips the switch to make the targets go even faster. No twitch or physical indication that Ryu noticed the speed up while he reloaded the chamber. Once he finished reloading, Ryu inclined his hat upwards to see the targets. Within that very instant…

**_Bang bang bang bang bang bang!_**

"Wooooweeee! That guy knows how to handle a gun! It's a BB gun too and that means having to calibrate where it will go! Well, sir, you won the big prize!" The man took out a brown colored dragon half the size of Asia. "Here you go, little one. And be sure to go for that man. He's a keeper." The man leaves to fix the targets after Ryu removed off the holster and toy weapon from his hip. Asia, unfortunately or fortunately, didn't hear the man over the ringing bells that dictated Ryu's victory over the game.

"Thank you, Ryu-san!" Asia hugged Ryu, still holding both Rairyu and the newly acquired plush. Ryu returns Asia's hug with his own. "Do you need me to carry the dragon?" Asia shook her head after reading his notepad once they broke the hug. "It's fine. I would like to sit down on a bench for a little bit so I won't need to be carrying it." Ryu nodded at that and turns around before walking away.

"W-wait!"

Ryu stopped and craned his neck back to glance at Asia. "Th-thank you for always showing me kindness and taking care of me… I really appreciate it… I hope I haven't been too much of a bother either." Asia shifts uncomfortably. Ryu shook his head at the last part, bringing Asia back to her normal cheerfulness. Tipping his hat farewell, Ryu began to walk off.

That is, until someone called him out.

"Ryu-sama!"

Guess who?

**_[I sense a pattern already, partner.]_**

* * *

**_Kuoh Amusement Park – Pendulum Ride: Ryu and Raynare_**

This was a unique machine… A pendulum type amusement park ride that had seats that went around in a circular shape.

Yeah, the seats part should have given away the second function to this ride.

**_Gulp_**

The sound of a heavy gulp. The sound of a lot saliva being swallowed in particular. The sound belonged to none other than Ryu. He was even heavily sweating bullets.

"Ahh, it can't be that bad, Ryu-sama! For someone like you, it shouldn't be a problem at all!" A cheerful Raynare tried to comfort the shaking-in-fear Ryu. He just nods as always and walks towards the ride with trembling legs. The two sat down and placed their safety belts and bars on.

Let's just say it wasn't a very good first time experience for Ryu.

* * *

**_Later…_**

"I'm _so_ sorry for not being considerate, Ryu-sama!" Ryu is lying on a random bench, eyes turned to swirling spirals during the pendulum tide. Ryu couldn't reply to Raynare's apologies thanks to his dizziness and the Fallen Angel looked crestfallen at her error.

"Even now, I still cause you trouble…"

Ryu snapped out of his dizziness no sooner than she finished her sentence. Sitting up, he looks at Raynare. "I thought I could make you smile and have fun… But it only turned out to be a disaster." Ryu blankly stared at the near in tears Raynare. Having thought up of a plan, he stood up and placed a hand on her head, making the girl tense up. She looked up and saw the notepad in front of her face.

"You did nearly kill us, that much is a fact. But you were misguided. You were told I was your enemy and Asia was your ticket to more praise. It was never your fault if you couldn't disobey someone of such high rank like Kokabiel without dying. Don't worry about it. In the end, it was all avoided and everyone lived. Except your exorcists. Freed is still alive though. Wish I could have ended him."

Raynare giggled at reading the last part, tears of sadness turned to tears of happiness. "I regret ever deceiving you and nearly killing you... Do you think we could ever have a chance to actually begin… Actually dating… At some point…?" Ryu blinked for his reply. Raynare fidgets around again like early in the morning.

* * *

**_Flashback_**

_"I think you should accept any feelings of the women that would fall in love with you. You can still reject the ones that don't meet your expectations, but make sure you have the women that do, nya~!"_

* * *

_**Flashback End**_

Ryu was sure Raynare met the expectations of being kind, generous, and considerate if this was really her true self. Making his decision, Ryu nodded eagerly with his well-known grin. Raynare, seeing the nod and happy grin, hugged Ryu tightly, muttering thank you's over and over.

* * *

_**Afternoon, Kuoh Academy - Courtyard: Ryu and co.**_

After everyone had their fun, Rias decided that her Peerage and herself should head back to the ORC building. Ryu asked if Raynare, Asia, and himself could join along. Of course, Rias agreed and they all reached the courtyard in a short amount of time.

"Ryu… Could I speak to you for a little bit?"

Ryu slowed his pace to get a good look at Shirone, still looking conflicted. He wondered if she even went to a ride at all. Motioning the rest to go without the two, Ryu was lead by Shirone to the forested part of the school, away from the old building used by the ORC.

"Ryu… Um… After all the times you've spent with my sister and I and also spent with me after being reunited…" Shirone swallowed a lump of saliva. "I… Was hoping if you could go out with me…"

**_Fwoooohhh~_**

Leaves scattered to the direction the wind led them and branches rustled by the force within the wind.

Ryu's lips curved slightly to a small smile, to a more noticeable one, and finally to a large grin. With the greatest amount of strength he could possibly muster, Ryu takes Shirone into his arms for a big, tight hug. Shirone, obviously taken by surprise, had a shocked look to her. That shocked look turned to one of happiness and hugged Ryu back. Very soon, the two looked into each other's eyes and closed in, their eyes closing as well.

**_Chu~_**

And so, Shirone and Ryu's innocent side's first kiss have finally been taken by each other. Their lips sweet, warm, and soft to the touch. The simple contact sending waves of pleasurable shivers down their spines and Shirone moaned lightly from its overpowering sensation. Ryu compassionately placed his hands on her hourglass hips and Shirone placed her hands on his powerfully built and defined chest. The wind's speed and force only got stronger, but they did not care.

Unfortunately for the two, they needed to brake the kiss and the hug after remembering that they needed to head back.

"We… Should probably go inside…" The two nodded in agreement at the idea and traversed out of the forest and back to the old school building.

* * *

**_ORC Building: Ryu and Shirone_**

Ryu and Shirone walk inside the main room.

"Ara, Shirone~ Did you have that moment you wanted? Fufufu~" Akeno, as always, continued to tease the poor Neko. Shirone responded with a smile, surprising many people in the room.

"Actually, I did. And-"

That's when it happened.

Fire spread across the room as a yellowish magic circle appeared in the corner of the room and all of the fire that suddenly appeared originated from that same circle. The fire and magic circle both vanished to reveal a blonde haired man, black eyed man in a red suit and white undershirt appeared. He appeared to be in his twenties or a teenager that looked like a yakuza member or leader.

Everyone save for Ryu, Asia, and Raynare had sour expressions.

"Riser has returned to the human world for you, my darling Rias."

**_To be continued…_**

* * *

**Ending: Rolling Star by Yui**

**(Yume ni made mita you na sekai de arasoi no naku heiwa ni kurashitai) **Camera shows the streets and buildings of Kuoh City that had fast moving shadows of bestial and demonic looking creatures. Suddenly, a human shaped shadow carrying what seemed to be two swords, lunging at the other shadows and the camera panned to show it was actually Ryu jumping up high in the air and then slashed the screen with his swords.

**(****Mou gaman bakka shiterannai yo ****iitai koto wa iwanakucha****) **The screen split into three from the slashes and now shows Ryu jumping across rooftops with Asia on his back and Kuroka and Shirone following behind him, all of them smiling in joy.

**(****Kaerimichi yuugure no basutei ****ochikonda senaka ni Bye Bye Bye!)** The scenery switches to show Rias and Sona playing a game of chess against each other in the ORC Clubroom and their Peerages doing other miscellaneous things or watching their Kings play.

**(****Kimi no Fighting Pose misenai Oh! ****Oh!****)** The scene swapped again to show Ryu standing in the middle of the streets at nighttime, now in his serious personality. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he leapt towards the screen and punches it. This caused it to shatter to small shards of glass.

**(****Yume ni made mita you na sekai wa ****arasoi mo naku heiwa na nichi jyou!****) **Now it demonstrates Ryu blocking a punch from Dohnaseek and counters with a punch of his own to the face, knocking him away. Next, he ducks to avoid a kick from behind by Kalawarner and counters with an uppercut that sent her flying. Lastly, he launches a beam of bronze colored energy at Mittlet that destroyed the incoming light spears in the process.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa hibi to rabu te ****tama ni kuyandari shiteru) **Swiftly turning around, Ryu charges towards Raynare, his gauntlet at the ready and jumps in the air to reach her with an open hand and she responds to throwing a light spear at him.

**(Sonna ROLLING DAYS!) **The entire screen went white right after.

**(Short Instrumental) **_A short series of flashbacks of all the times he fought against his foes that included Stray Devils, Freed, and the Fallen Angels play in his mind._

**(****Kitto uso nante sou imi wo motanai no) **Ryu falls to the floor, the bangs of his hair covers his eyes, and blood littered his torn up clothes and body.

**(All my loving… ****Sou janakya yatterannai!) **Two hands are offered in front of him and looks up to see Rias, Kiba, Akeno, and Asia and the hands belonging to Kuroka and Shirone.

**(Yume ni made mita you na Sweet Love ****koibitotachi wa kakure ga wo sagasu no) **Ryu gladly took the assistance and stood back up on his feet.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa aenai hi ga****tsuzukinagara mo shinjiteru no Lonely days****) **Slowly raising his hand up, Ryu summons his Boosted Gear once more. The gem shines brightly and gives the white background made by the shining moon a more vibrant and beautiful color.

**(Tsumazuitatte Way to go! ****Yeah! Yeah!) **The group behind Ryu smiles at seeing him stand up and as he raised his armored hand up in the air.

**(Dorodarake ROLLING STAR!) **The screen soon becomes engulfed in a sea of green light by the gauntlet.

**End ending song**

* * *

**Success! Hope you all enjoyed that chapter! Before I put this chapter to a close, a few things need to be said. ****Not much to say here other than a few things about my character's abilities. He won't be using the swords as much in this volume if at all at this point. In the next volume is when he will definitely start using Ascalon and Gram and so on and so forth. He can't start using the two magic energies 'cuz he'll be listed as a suspect of the holy and demonic energy anomaly. He'll train with the swords, the two energy types that he now has in his core, and learn cool abilities from them after this volume.**

**Last thing: Those hints I left about Ddraig's reaction to Ryu's magic circle and him learning "Crimson Raze" before whatever "time" he was talking about? Yyyeeeaaahhh… Not gonna be explained until later, **_**much **_**later in the series. Same thing with Ryu's rare case of muteness. I know, I know; I'm an ass. Let it be known that it is at least one of the plot points I personally created though.**

**So yeah. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. More soon to come!**


	14. Arrogant Phenex Meets Dragon Protector

**How will this turn out? Let's find out!**

**After these reviews!**

**AidosX: Ah, I see. Less than 8k. Well, most of my chapters are less than that if you ignore the AN's and the opening and ending and there you go. And to answer your questions in order: No, that arc will be in the future volumes. Not saying who he's beating if you don't know. He is definitely human. No, he is not Ddraig and I told you that last chapter.**

**Tmax 99: Ah, thank you. I have been itching to show that move off for a while now.**

**Blazedragon94: I don't get that! If Agito symbolizes a Chinese Dragon, then why put Ryuki symbolizing a Chinese Dragon too!? Did they get lazy!?**

**Billy the Kid 730: Thank you for enjoying my story. I like that perceptiveness you have too. Long story short: He's saving them from being embarrassed since only Shirone, Kiba, and Asia are the only ones to understand him so far.**

**Once more, I don't own Highschool DxD and check out my profile to see any updates on my OST list. Please do enjoy.**

"I refuse to give up!" – Speech  
_"I can't keep up…" – Thoughts/Flashbacks speech  
__'Let's do this, Ddraig!' – Ryu "speech"  
__'Please, lend me your power!' – Ryu "thoughts"__  
_**[Hang in there!]/[BOOST!] – Ddraig speech****  
****_[Through the thick and thin, partner.] – Ddraig thoughts/Flashback speech_**

* * *

**Opening: Sympathy by Larval Stage Planning**

**(Tomo ni mou ichido tachiagare ****mamore hitotsu no inochi…) **The camera shows Ryu landing on the ground and narrowing his eyes at the Peerage of Riser as they prepare themselves for combat. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he charges at them and the green gem begins to glow.

**(****Tayasanu yo niiii!)** The glow stopped and the upcoming clash is replaced with the picture of the Boosted Gear itself across the screen horizontally and the title appears in the middle.

**_"古伝の竜守る Vol 0: 不羈(Legend of the Dragon Protector, Vol 0: Freedom)"_**

Then the gauntlet and title turn to shiny green particles.

**(****Futatabi otozureta yoake ni me ga samete kimi wo omoi dasu yume no tochuu) **The particles vanished to show the ORC Club and scrolls from left to right to show Rias to Kiba, Akeno, Asia, and finally to Shirone and Kuroka. All of them smiling towards the camera.

**(Me no mae no zanzo susumanai ashidori****toozakatte yuku hiriki na boku)**Once more, the scenery switched to the Student Council Room and scrolled from right to left this time to show Sona, Tsubaki, Saji, Momo, Reya, Tsubasa, Rukuro, and Tomoe, all smiling at the camera as well.

**(Taisetsu na mono wa doko ni aru? ****Ashita wo shinjiru nara wasurenaide!)**The screen returned back to Ryu charging towards Riser's Peerage and the camera panned to the females and zooms past them and closes in on Riser's smirking face.

**(Ima koso saa inochi wo kakete susumi dasu toki****omoi ga tsuyoi hodo tsuyokunaru!)** Ryu dodges, parries, and counters the attacks of the servants in the Phenex's Peerage and heads straight for Riser after dealing with the females.

**(Hengen suru tsugihagi darake no risou dewa****sugu ni kiete shimau kara!) **Riser flies up in the air with his fire wings and Ryu follows suit with his energy being released through the sole of his feet and shoes and clash high in the sky with fist against fist, kicks against kick, and yellowish colored fires against copper colored lasers.

**(Towa e tsuzuku kawasu chikai****furue dashita karada no soko kara!) **Ryu slowly held up his Sacred Gear and the jewel shines once more with a light so intense that made Riser cover his eyes from its intensity. Red flames spread around Ryu's entire body and an armored silhouette slowly makes it appearance within the flames with emerald green eyes piercing through the red fire.

**End opening song**

* * *

_**Last time...**_

_Fire spread across the room as a yellowish magic circle appeared in the corner of the room and all of the fire that suddenly appeared originated from that same circle. The fire and magic circle both vanished to reveal a blonde haired man, black eyed man in a red suit and white undershirt appeared. He appeared to be in his twenties or a teenager that looked like a yakuza member or leader._

_Everyone save for Ryu, Asia, and Raynare had sour expressions._

_"Riser has returned to the human world for you, my darling Rias."_

* * *

_**Now...**_

"The tea made by Rias' Queen is most delicious." Riser spoke as he took a little sip of his cup.

"Thank you." Akeno bows respectfully, suppressed anger clear in the eyes of others except for Riser.

It's been a few minutes after the man who referred to himself in third person as Riser and sat next to Rias, one arm around her and twiddling the crimson locks of Rias' and drinking tea.

_"I can see why they don't like this guy now." _Thought a disgusted Raynare.

_"Auuuhh... He's scary and has a mean aura..." _Thought a scared Asia.

Ryu pulled out his notepad, "Who is this, person?" Kiba sighed. "He's Rias' fiance and third son of the Phenex Family. That means he's a pure-blooded, High Class Devil." Riser heard this and finally payed attention to the others in the room. "What a diverse group of Pieces you've collected, Rias. The blonde female looks very much like a nun and still manages to carry a holy aura. A holy artifact that she can still wield, perhaps? Riser can tell she has potential." Riser chuckled with some added perversion in that chuckle. "Hmm... Then there is this Fallen Angel. Riser likes her especially, she has developed quite nicely. Both power and looks." Raynare and Asia immediately grabbed onto Ryu's arms since they're sitting next to him on the sofa and can't get behind him. Akeno stood behind the sofa Ryu and the others were seating on with Kiba after finishing her cleaning.

Then Riser's eyes landed on Shirone.

Was it mentioned that her ears and tail were out? They were. And sitting on Ryu's lap.

"Hello, who's this?" Riser stood up and graciously walks to the other sofa. "Oh? This is one of the Toujou Sisters? Did you save her by making her your Peerage member?" Riser grinned and extended his hand out to pet her. Shirone, knowing how Ryu will react if she so much as tenses, did not flex, twitch, or move a muscle. The others had their eyes trained on Riser in preparation and Ryu blinked (what do you expect of a mute and mentally scarred kid?) at the action. "What an exquisite and unique power she has. She has extraordinaire potential. As expected of a Nekoshou." Just when Riser's hand can wander off anywhere else, he walked back and sat back on the sofa Rias was on. Rias' bangs covered her eyes on feeling Riser's hand touch her thigh and slowly inching it's way closer to-

"That's enough, Riser." Rias gets up from the sofa without sparing one glance of her hatred towards Riser. "Understand that I have no intention of marrying you and I never will." Riser adopted a carefree expression as he leans his back against the sofa, "But darling, Riser believes your family's circumstances deem that we become wed and you cannot afford to be selfish."

That statement apparently snapped a nerve in Rias.

"I will not bring my family to be ruined." Rias retorted with a heavy glare at the Phenex. "Although I have no intention of denying your right to our name, I still stand that my husband will be my decision in the end." Riser still had that calm and smirking face. "Remember that it is vital for us Devils to stay pure-blooded. Our Peerage System may be effective in increasing our numbers after the Biblical War, but it is not helping our numbers for us pure-bloods. You do well to also remember that even your father and your brother agreed to this." Rias turns her back on Riser. "My brother, my father, and my entire clan are in too great of a rush. For the final time..." Rias turns again to face Riser, "I will not marry you, Riser!"

Riser, having heard enough, took Rias by surprise by cupping her chin with his index finger and thumb. "For the final time, Rias... Riser bears the reputation of the House of Phenex." His eyes narrow and they shine a bit in the lighting, revealing them to be dark blue and not black. "Besmirching the Phenex's good name is _unacceptable_." Rias' eyes widen at hearing the aggression in that last part. The others did too and the ones sitting down got up from the couch (or lap in Shirone's case). Riser turns to give one good look at the Peerage and non-Peerage members.

"Riser doesn't care if he has to _incinerate everyone in this room!_"

Riser's his line of sight switched back to Rias and fire begins to appear and harmlessly lick his clothes.

Rias' red colored magic surrounds her body in preparation to counter Riser.

If Riser only knew what he just said and what he is about to do will come right back at him in a much later and dire time...

_**Twitch...**_

"You _will _return to the Underworld with _me_!"

**_WHAM!_**

Before anyone could process what happened, Riser was already launched to a wall by some unknown force, leaving a heavy impression on said wall.

Riser growled in fury at this act of violence. "WHO DARED TO HIT RISER!?" Riser yelled as he removed himself from the wall. He quickly looked around and saw everyone in the same place they stood and no one even responded. _"What!? How is that possible!? No one attacked Riser!? No... Riser wasn't paying attention to notice." _Riser thought. "Rias. Do you know who in your Peerage attacked me just now!?" Rias, inwardly grateful of the one who did that, shook her head. "I didn't see any movement at all, Riser. Perhaps it was your magic overloading on you?" Riser glowered with rage. "I highly doubt that is possible for a High Cla-"

Another magic circle appeared in the opening of the room. This time, it bears the symbol of the Gremory Household. The person, or woman in this case, appeared out of it. This woman wore a maid's outfit, complete with the headdress and red lipstick. Her hair is a lustrous silver including her eyes and an complexion of around her 20's that betrayed her actual age. Her body naturally voluptuous as most supernatural beings with a size-able bust that could compete with Shirone and Raynare in her human appearance. "I would have hoped this would have not revolved around violence."

Rias' eyes widened then narrowed at seeing the maid. "Onee-san."

Riser fixed his clothes and hair. "My, I'm honored to meet the wife and Queen of Lord Sirzechs himself, Grayfia Lucifuge."

The now named Grayfia, kept her ever-present stoic expression. "Please do not fight here, ojou-sama and Riser-sama." Riser returned to his condescending attitude in hearing Grayfia's request, "When told by the one and only 'Ultimate Queen,' even Riser can become somewhat fearful." Not even fazed by the unnecessary comment, Grayfia continued, "My master predicted this conflict would occur. As a final resort, should you two be unable to come to an agreement-..." Rias folded her arms under her bountiful chest, annoyance evident both body language and expression. "Of course he did. Could you be a little bit specific in this 'resort'?" Not even batting an eyelash at this (how does she do it?), the Gremory Clan's personal maid continued, "If ojou-sama placed her personal preferences over the important matters of her family, she has the choice to settle it via an unofficial Rating Game."

Rias, Akeno, Kiba, Shirone, and even Raynare gawked incredulously at such an alternative.

Ryu and Asia tilted their heads in confusion. "What's a... 'Rating Game'?" Asia asked. Shirone returned to her senses and answered that question. "An event that takes place between two High Class Devils and their Peerages. They compete and fight until one gives up or the King is defeated." Raynare blunted it out to a "long story short" way. "It's pretty much a war simulation." The Fallen Angel gazes at the Nekoshou. "Is your master even eligible to compete?" Kiba answered that for her, "No, but Grayfia stated that it is unofficial." Akeno chose to place her bit of info on the subject. "It is also similar to the game of chess except you don't have to have all Evil Pieces used in order to play. That's why each piece has its own individual trait to offer for the one being reincarnated. You just need to be deemed strong and old enough as a High Class in order to participate."

Riser turns his attention back to the group bunched up on the opposite side of the room. "Is this your entire Peerage, Rias?" Rias looked ready to punch him in the face. "No. Ryu-kun, Asia, and Raynare are allies. The rest are my own." She stated and referring to the two humans and pure-blood Fallen Angel. Riser bellows to full laughter almost in an instant. "Hahaha! This will be too easy for Riser! Unlike you, Rias, who is inexperienced, Riser has played through numerous Rating Games and won in several of them for himself." Rias narrowed her eyes further

Ryu crosses his arms over his chest, frowning while doing so. _'I'll have to train them. I can't be soft on them either. They really haven't experienced any life and death situations since the Stray Devils they fought are below their level and have not felt the true "rush of the battle".'_ Ddraig nodded his head in agreement to the plan._ **[Agreed, partner. Even if the Phenex is arrogant, he has power to be arrogant and reaches your level of power in every part. That alone places them at a **_**_disadvantage.] _**_'That's not good. He also has immortality and that includes a healing factor.'_

Riser continued to speak, "Riser must ask... Are the adorable three the extent of your servants?" Rias answered through retrained anger, "And if they are?" "Hahaha! This is far too easy!" Riser ceased to laugh holds out his index finger and thumb.

_**Snap!**_

_**FWOOM!**_

Another magic circle of the Phenex takes form in the middle of the room and like the last one before, fire blasted through that circle. The fire and magic circle both vanish to reveal fifteen Peerage member of Riser. (Not describing the _fifteen _freaking girls that have only _one _purpose in this volume! The wiki and images are there!)

"Riser has _fifteen _Pieces. In other words... A full set."

Ryu, Raynare, and Asia stared stupidly at the sheer number of members the Devil had.

_**[Hmph... Arrogant and corrupted. I can tell most are still "intact" or have not been touched in the wrong way at the very least.]**_

Riser's cocky smirk only increased further. "If you were to agree to marry Riser, Rias, he would most definitely give you all the love you deserve. Example... Yubelluna."

The one named Yubelluna closed her eyes with a downwards tilt of the head to show respect to her master and offered a small smile before opening her eyes back up. "Yes, my Lord Riser." The woman approaches her master with the grace of a queen (ba dum tss). Riser cupped Yubellena's chin and pulled her close to him.

"Mmm~"

Rias, Akeno, Kiba, Shirone, and Raynare narrowed their eyes in disgust. Ryu and Asia gaped at the scene in front of them.

Riser and Yubelluna were French kissing each other. Purposefully showing their tongues interacting in the steamy hot kiss.

Grayfia and Riser's Peerage impassively stood by as this display occurred.

Riser turns Yubelluna 90 degrees and got behind her.

"Aah~!"

Rias, Akeno, Kiba, Shirone, and Raynare restrained themselves to show disgusted expressions. Asia showed some level of restraint by covering her mouth with both hands and her eyes just showing wide-eyed shock. Everyone else continued to remain impassive.

Riser was fondling the breasts of his own servant and even showing her now naked breasts for the ones in the room to see. "Do you see, Rias? Riser can give you things and much more." "Aaahn~ Lord Riser..." Yubelluna's cheeks are covered in dark red of a blush and expression carried heavy amounts of lust and enjoyment.

Ryu's personality changed to his mature self and glared at Riser.

Riser sniffed the air when a peculiar scent hit him. _'Hmm... This scent... Only Riser and Grayfia carry it although she is masking it... And now Riser is smelling a third one out of nowhere...'_

_**[It cannot even be considered a harem if the females and-or males do not freely agree to share the one creating their own harem... In this case; the Gremory.]**_

Riser and Yubelluna parted from each other by a pair of hands. Riser did not take kindly to this and Yubelluna's butt fell on the couch since her legs could not support the body's own weight, panting and breathing heavily with that same blissful expression.

"Who do you think you are to have Rise-" Riser paused in his rant when a notepad is placed in front of him for him to read.

"No lewd acts inside of Rias-san's club. Kissing included."

Riser's anger lessened after reading it. "Hmph... Very well then. This _is_ her proper-" Riser stopped his sentence when he (FINALLY) notices the owner of the notepad is Ryu. "Interesting! This man's power reaches Riser's! Why didn't Riser notice you before?" The only thing Ryu did in response is lowering his notepad. "Ah, you are mute. Strange... It is rare to see someone in the supernatural that is mute if they can just heal their own voice." Riser cups his own chin while analyzing Ryu. "Yes, you are someone of great charisma and has not let it go to waste like Riser. The cowboy image suits you quite well too. Tell me, how was your 'first experience'?"

_**[Oh no...]**_

**"What!?"**

Rias, Akeno, Raynare, Shirone, and even Asia yelled out and had their jaws dropped at hearing this bit of information.

Riser ignores the yells of disbelief and continued, "Riser can smell the scent of your 'first time' being lost."

**"WHAT!?"**

"Judging by the freshness of it; you lost it... Hmm... Over a week ago? Who's 'cherry' did you you 'pop'?"

_**[Brace your ears...]**_

**"WWWHHHAAAAAT!?"**

The building itself shook by the cries of agony and utter shock. Riser's entire Peerage and Kiba flinched at the scream.

Grayfia stood there with that same stoic expression (seriously how_ does_ she do it?).

Ryu did not say or do anything. He just kept his eyes trained on Riser. This entire time Riser kept questioning him, he only thought of one thing:

_'What is he talking about?'_

"No matter." Riser looked back to see Rias getting over the shock. "So, Rias. Because you are Riser's bride-to-be, he's willing to give you 10 days to train." Rias' suppressed anger returned and scowled. "Are you giving us a handicap?" "Why yes. You will need it if you wish to increase your chances of registering as a decent exercise for Riser." Riser felt his shoulder poked at and turned his neck slightly to glance at Ryu. "Can you extend that by two days? I'm going to personally be training them." Riser arrogantly laughs at the request. "Hahaha! Out of Riser's curiosity, why should Riser do that?"

Grayfia stepped up to answer that. "He is the one who drastically reduced the Stray Devil count of oujou-sama's territory by himself."

Riser actually seemed impressed. "The one that started slaying Stray Devils two years ago?" Grayfia nodded. "That would explain your power. No doubt that you know the feeling of real battle like Riser and his Peerage does." Riser haughtily commented. "Very well. Riser will grant an extra two days for you to train Rias. Use this time wisely." Ryu nodded. "Good. Riser enjoy his women to be able to hold their own." Riser spoke as he and Yubelluna walked back to their group. "Farewell for now, Rias. Know that you will still become Riser's bride in the end."

_**FWOOOM!**_

And at those last words spoken, the Phenex Clan's magic circle and yellowish flames that accompanied it made its appearance below Riser's feet and his Peerage, disappearing with both the flames and circle.

Grayfia inclined her upper body slightly as a sign of a respectful bow. "Thank you, Ryu-sama. Ojou-sama notified me that you are this current generation's Sekiryutei. With your power and the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet at your disposal, I am positive you will raise Rias' and her servants' capabilities tremendously." Ryu smiles from the kind act and he bows back to show respect and acknowledgement. "I also thank you for being an ally to the Devil Faction for your services such as the near complete extermination of Stray Devils in ojou-sama's territory is most appreciated. I will let my Lord Sirzechs know this." The Gremory Clan's magic circle takes shape on the ground she stands and transports back to the Underworld using the circle.

**"JIIIIIIII (Translation: STAAAAAAAARE)~"**

_'Why do I feel like I'm stared at?'_ _**[You **_**are**_** being stared at, partner.] **'Oh. Okay.' _Ryu turns to see every single female in the room having their bangs covering their faces and each having one pair of eyes in the shape of orbs, ominously glowing in their respective colors. Ryu tilted his head in confusion.

* * *

**_Kouh City limits - Past Kuoh Woods_**

Some time after the glaring festivities, Rias informed everyone of a place they can go to begin their training past Kuoh Forest and near the mountain range. Ryu, back then and even now in his serious disposition, immediately told everyone to begin packing and leave to that place Rias told them.

None of the females dared to even glare or ask the mute about the loss of his virginity when they saw his stern face.

"We've finally arrived." After the group hiked up the last hill without any given exhaustion, they could see a large mansion up ahead. Nowhere near civilization. All of them wearing sweat jackets and pants of their own color.

"Wow! I didn't see this earlier!" Gushed out an amazed Asia. "That's because it is inside an invisibility barrier spell." Explained Raynare. Rias nods in confirmation. "Perceptive. It is also placed on a warning spell to keep animals and normal humans away from the entire mountain region." Kiba looked around in search of something or more specifically, someone. "Has anyone seen Ryu-senpai yet?" Everyone shook their heads. "He did mention he would catch up eventually. I wonder if he will catch up to us...?" Akeno wondered aloud. Shirone's now visible ears perked up. "He's here." Everyone detected his presence as well and looked back to check that he was here as expected.

Ryu wore a tight, blue t-shirt, blue sweat pants, and combat boots. The shirt showed off his sculptured and 8-packed abs and pectorals and his slightly bulging biceps and triceps.

...

'What?' Asked a confused Ryu.

"RYU-SAMA!" Raynare was the first to lunge towards the unexpected Ryu.

(Cue: Love Chase)

Ryu reacted by ducking from the lunge and ran away from the love-crazed Fallen Angel.

"Ara ara, buchou. She's after our classmate." Akeno ominously spoke. Rias nodded sagely, "We must help him." The former having a heavy blush and the latter lightly blushing. Then the two gave chase, each one of the two having a different purpose to chase Ryu and Raynare. Asia peered at the escaping figure that was Ryu. "Ryu-san... Has really trained..." She also had a blush that tinted her cheeks although her thoughts of Ryu were not as impure compared to the likes of Raynare or Akeno or impure at all. Kiba chuckled at that. "Perhaps Ryu-senpai will train me to have a physique such as that." Shirone, frowning, took off in another direction.

This left Asia and Kiba the remaining ones.

"So, Asia... Want to head inside? I am a servant of Rias, so I can unlock the entrance for the two of us and start cooking." Asia looked up to see her classmate and shyly looked back down, poking her fingers as she did so. "S-sure..."

* * *

**_Forested area..._**

Ryu did not stop in his sprint away from Raynare's fangirl mode. Now, he could only hope to keep running and hide his energy and hope for the best.

'I'm going back to wearing jackets and baggy shirts and pants! Never again will I wear something like this!'

_**Yoink! **_

'Whoa!' Ryu yelled out when feeling the back of his shirt grabbed and pulled upwards. The owner of the hand that pulled him was...

'Shirone!?'

"Shh!" Shirone placed an index finger on her lips to emphasize the shushing. Ryu nodded and was placed on the branch she is crouched on.

The lovers listened for the three that were giving chase.

"Whare are you, Ryu-sama!?"

"We will not let you taint Ryu-kun's innocence, Fallen Angel!"

"Ara, I want to be the one to taint him~"

Shirone and Ryu could only blink and listen to the rebuttal that went on.

_**BOOOM!**_

"Sigh... Now they're going to fight each other... Let's go, Ryu. Before we get caught in the crossfire." Ryu nods and the two branch hop away.

(End: Love Chase)

* * *

**_Waterfall area..._**

Ryu and Shirone reached a waterfall that was surrounded by lush plantation and away from the battle that was going on.

"This seems like a good place to meditate. Mind joining me, Ryu?" Ryu tilted his head slightly, still awed by the scenery and beauty in front of him. "Heehee. Like it, huh?" Ryu dumbly nodded. "We can start right here in the grass. Just sit down in the usual cross legged position as usual and we'll begin. I'll help you and take care of any fatigue you have with Senjutsu." Ryu followed Shirone's instructions and sat down with his legs crossed, Shirone following suit. Ryu closed his eyes to concentrate and Shirone sat in front of Ryu to watch him. Both of them holding their hands.

"Now... Feel the environment around you..."

Ryu happened to actually feel what was going on near him.

"Let your environment communicate with you."

He began to open himself up to the area surrounding him.

"Allow its energy to energize through you through me."

This is when Shirone sensed a familiar sensation.

_"What is this feeling...?" _Giving it some thought, she attempts to remember what it was.

And her eyes widened when she remembered it.

_"H-he's learning Senjutsu!" _Shirone could only remain immobile and watch as Ryu intakes the magic energy inside of nature deep into his core that she gently pushed inside of him.

Ryu's aura begins to reveal itself once again in its brown color. The aura and the energy of the environment started to mix and meld as they danced with one another, creating a more dense aura and slowly changing itself to a copper-like color.

_"M-maybe he'll be able to heal himself? Maybe he'll be able to talk again!" _Understandably, Shirone doesn't expect Ryu to immediately learn or fully grasp Senjutsu. It took up to months or years for even Buddhists to finally comprehend Senjutsu. But still, what Ryu is doing now was nothing short of an accomplishment.

_"Could it be from all that control of his core and magic system that he achieved is the reason he's already learning to do this?" _It was a possible theory. The way he handles his energy to enhance his body's abilities worked very similar to the ones who use Senjutsu. Then again, those with such a talent that Ryu had over his magic could still not learn the way of Senjutsu.

_"He could be gifted or there's something else to it... Or both."_

Something happened that snapped her out of her musings.

"Huh? Ryu? Ryu!"

Shirone panicked when she saw Ryu convulsing and snapping himself out of meditation. His energy became unstable as he tried to stand up only to drop on his hands and knees and cough up mass amounts of blood. Shirone did not hesitate to try and heal the source of his pain. It was working, but she was still worried.

**[Partner, hold on! Toujou, keep healing him!]**

"RYU!?" Shirone for her first time, has seen an expression she didn't think would ever cross Ryu's face.

Pain.

Unbelievable amounts of pain.

Tears streaming out of his eyes from how bad the pain was.

He no longer could take the pain and fell back first on the grassy earth.

That's when she noticed the source of his pain.

"His scar... It's glowing purple! Hang on, Ryu!"

**[Stay awake, partner! She is going to acquire assistance! Partner? Partner!]**

That was the last thing he heard before falling inside the depths of unconsciousness.

* * *

_**Inside the Boosted Gear...**_

Saying Ddraig was worried would be an understatement the size of his own self.

Here he had Ryu on top of his left wing, blood flowing out of the scar on his neck. Outside in his body, his throat was not actually bleeding. In here though, it meant something pretty big.

**[Partner, you must hold on. The Neko has already arrived with your comrades to try and mend this problem.]**

* * *

**_Evening, Gremory Mansion..._**

"Shirone, do you mind telling us what happened?"

Two hours have passed since the group have brought Ryu inside of the mansion and in the room he was staying for the rest of the trip. Speaking of Ryu's room, the entire group are inside that same room to observe if anything else happens.

"I was trying to remove any possible fatigue from Ryu..." Shirone paused to think about what else to say. No one seemed to have caught the hesitance. "We'll concern ourselves about that later, Shirone. What else happened?" Questioned Rias. "As always in using trying to heal him, the energy tried to heal Ryu's throat... But his scar violently reacted to it and he started to convulse an-and he started to cough up blood! H-he-..." Shirone calmed herself from crying at remembering him in pain. "He was crying in pain." Rias remained composed as ever. "Anything you can tell us about those forearm protectors and shin guards?" Shirone shook her head. "I don't, buchou. I can't remove them either."

Akeno and Rias did a full diagnostics check on Ryu using their magic to find out any problems and they stumbled upon the armor pieces on him. They couldn't sense anything from them yet the armor somehow has remained stuck on his body no matter how much effort they put in trying to remove them. Shirone once tried to secretly use her Senjutsu and full power to try and remove them and they still remained on his person.

"U-um! I was able to stop the purple glowy thing! But his scar is still there and I'm pretty sure he still can't speak either..." Spoke a worried Asia. Yes, they did find out how to fix the problem and that was by _indirectly_ healing the scar. Meaning they focused on healing the pain away instead of healing the scar itself. They would have tried to heal the scar, but they didn't know what could happen if they did. So they chose to leave it alone.

**[Partner is awakening.]**

Every single person in the room turned their attention to the shifting and stirring Ryu. The brown haired male finally awoke from his short term loss of consciousness and gently opened his eyes.

"Ryu!"/"Ryu-san!"/"Ryu-kun!"/"Ryu-senpai!/"Ryu-sama!" Came the replies of everyone rushing to Ryu's side. Said mute moved his mouth.

But this time, no one understood what he said.

"W-we couldn't understand that, Ryu-san..." Pointed out an internally panicking Asia.

"Wait... We couldn't understand that!" Yelled out Kiba.

**[I can still understand him. He inquired on what occurred. Toujou, would you mind?] **"It's fine." Shirone unfurled the events that happened for the past two hours in a short manner. Ryu appeared discouraged that this all happened and apologized to them via Ddraig telling them.

"We'll call it a day. We will eat and rest afterwards," Rias casts her eyes down to stare into Ryu's eyes, "Do you think you can come down with us to eat?" Ryu gave a thumbs up and grin, brightening everyone's mood and letting them leave with some peace of mind to get changed and be ready for dinner.

**[Partner... How are you feeling?] **Lip movement was made by Ryu in reply. **[Good. I apologize, but I cannot tell you what is exactly wrong with you, partner.] **Ryu shook his head in understanding. He was just glad everyone was happy and everything is fine again.

Outside of his door was Shirone. She was about to ask Ryu what food he wanted until she heard Ddraig.

_"How could he say that he doesn't know about Ryu's condition when he told me to keep healing away his pain? It was as if he did know..."_

* * *

**_Koden no Ryu Mamoru Omake II: The Red Dragon Bishounen_**

"Yes, you are someone of great charisma and has not let it go to waste like Riser. The cowboy image suits you quite well too."

_**[This is not the full extent of partner's power, Phenex! Partner! Here is what you must do...]**_

Ryu blinked and did as instructed. Loosening his jacket just below his shoulders and bites his shirt to lift it up with his mouth to show his now half-exposed 8-pack whilst releasing a deadly amount of bishounen power, Ryu shifted his gaze to the females in the room and gave a smile that looked like a sensual smirk that was reinforced by his handsome, narrowed eyes. Every single female but Grayfia, Yubelluna, and Asia, who was just blushing tomato red, had massive nosebleeds that knocked them down to the ground.

That's when some of them from Riser's Peerage rose back up, hearts in their eyes.

**"Marry us, Ryu-sama!"**

The camera immediately zooms in on Ryu's now panicked face. _'It's just like my first year in high school! Why, Ddraig!? Why!?' _Ryu bolted out through the window and the females that were love-struck leap out after him.

Then the females of the Gremory's Peerage and the Gremory herself stood back up as well and chased after the females that chased after Ryu.

**"He's not yours!"**

Riser cried tears of manliness. "Riser's not worthy! Riser's not worthy!"

Kiba stared out the window and shook his head in an amused manner. "Just another day for my senpai."

_**Omake End!**_

* * *

**Ending: Rolling Star by Yui**

**(Yume ni made mita you na sekai de arasoi no naku heiwa ni kurashitai) **Camera shows the streets and buildings of Kuoh City that had fast moving shadows of bestial and demonic looking creatures. Suddenly, a human shaped shadow carrying what seemed to be two swords, lunging at the other shadows and the camera panned to show it was actually Ryu jumping up high in the air and then slashed the screen with his swords.

**(****Mou gaman bakka shiterannai yo ****iitai koto wa iwanakucha****) **The screen split into three from the slashes and now shows Ryu jumping across rooftops with Asia on his back and Kuroka and Shirone following behind him, all of them smiling in joy.

**(****Kaerimichi yuugure no basutei ****ochikonda senaka ni Bye Bye Bye!**)The scenery switches to show Rias and Sona playing a game of chess against each other in the ORC Clubroom and their Peerages doing other miscellaneous things or watching their Kings play.

**(****Kimi no Fighting Pose misenai Oh! ****Oh!****)** The scene swapped again to show Ryu standing in the middle of the streets at nighttime, now in his serious personality. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he leapt towards the screen and punches it. This caused it to shatter to small shards of glass.

**(****Yume ni made mita you na sekai wa ****arasoi mo naku heiwa na nichi jyou!****) **Now it demonstrates Ryu blocking a punch from Dohnaseek and counters with a punch of his own to the face, knocking him away. Next, he ducks to avoid a kick from behind by Kalawarner and counters with an uppercut that sent her flying. Lastly, he launches a beam of bronze colored energy at Mittlet that destroyed the incoming light spears in the process.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa hibi to rabu te ****tama ni kuyandari shiteru) **Swiftly turning around, Ryu charges towards Raynare, his gauntlet at the ready and jumps in the air to reach her with an open hand and she responds to throwing a light spear at him.

**(Sonna ROLLING DAYS!) **The entire screen went white right after.

**(Short Instrumental) **_A short series of flashbacks of all the times he fought against his foes that included Stray Devils, Freed, and the Fallen Angels play in his mind._

**(****Kitto uso nante sou imi wo motanai no) **Ryu falls to the floor, the bangs of his hair covers his eyes, and blood littered his torn up clothes and body.

**(All my loving… ****Sou janakya yatterannai!) **Two hands are offered in front of him and looks up to see Rias, Kiba, Akeno, and Asia and the hands belonging to Kuroka and Shirone.

**(Yume ni made mita you na Sweet Love ****koibitotachi wa kakure ga wo sagasu no)**Ryu gladly took the assistance and stood back up on his feet.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa aenai hi ga****tsuzukinagara mo shinjiteru no Lonely days****) **Slowly raising his hand up, Ryu summons his Boosted Gear once more. The gem shines brightly and gives the white background made by the shining moon a more vibrant and beautiful color.

**(Tsumazuitatte Way to go! ****Yeah! Yeah!) **The group behind Ryu smiles at seeing him stand up and as he raised his armored hand up in the air.

**(Dorodarake ROLLING STAR!) **The screen soon becomes engulfed in a sea of green light by the gauntlet.

**End ending song**

* * *

**Heheh... Aside from the fact Ryu no longer can "speak," I think he's really one of a kind. A guy with a body structure of a slightly beefed up athlete, bishounen, two personalities, someone with an unexplained past (for now) that made his only apparent weakness of inflicting physical pain his neck, cowboy history running in his veins, and a mute. Can you say Gary Stu? Not really. He has his fair share of near deaths (even if in the story so far only showed one) and not everyone will like him.**


	15. Training and Self-Awareness?

**I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience of chapters 5 and 7 being the same. I also thank Teyranas for pointing this mistake out. This chapter will be mostly Ryu getting to know Rias and Akeno a little more. And some combat... And other stuff.**

**Blazedragon94: In the English Dub version of HSDXD, Riser speaks in third person. Oh, and thanks for mentally kicking my arse with Kamen Rider Fun Facts. Much Appreciated (Pfft!). About Ryu's scar... I'm quite surprised how people always think that it relates to past Boosted Gear hosts or Ddraig. I would have thought some new assumptions would have been made at this point in the story.**

**AidosX: Not saying.**

**Me no own Highschool DxD. Enjoy do.**

"I refuse to give up!" – Speech  
_"I can't keep up…" – Thoughts/Flashbacks speech  
_**[Hang in there!]/[BOOST!] – Ddraig speech****  
****_[Through the thick and thin, partner!] – Ddraig thoughts/Flashback speech_**

* * *

**Opening: Sympathy by Larval Stage Planning**

**(Tomo ni mou ichido tachiagare ****mamore hitotsu no inochi…) **The camera shows Ryu landing on the ground and narrowing his eyes at the Peerage of Riser as they prepare themselves for combat. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he charges at them and the green gem begins to glow.

**(****Tayasanu yo niiii!)** The glow stopped and the upcoming clash is replaced with the picture of the Boosted Gear itself across the screen horizontally and the title appears in the middle.

_**"古伝の竜守る Vol 0: 不羈(Legend of the Dragon Protector, Vol 0: Freedom)"**_

Then the gauntlet and title turn to shiny green particles.

**(****Futatabi otozureta yoake ni me ga samete kimi wo omoi dasu yume no tochuu) **The particles vanished to show the ORC Club and scrolls from left to right to show Rias to Kiba, Akeno, Asia, and finally to Shirone and Kuroka. All of them smiling towards the camera.

**(Me no mae no zanzo susumanai ashidori ****toozakatte yuku hiriki na boku)**Once more, the scenery switched to the Student Council Room and scrolled from right to left this time to show Sona, Tsubaki, Saji, Momo, Reya, Tsubasa, Rukuro, and Tomoe, all smiling at the camera as well.

**(Taisetsu na mono wa doko ni aru?****Ashita wo shinjiru nara wasurenaide!)**The screen returned back to Ryu charging towards Riser's Peerage and the camera panned to the females and zooms past them and closes in on Riser's smirking face.

**(Ima koso saa inochi wo kakete susumi dasu toki****omoi ga tsuyoi hodo tsuyokunaru!)** Ryu dodges, parries, and counters the attacks of the servants in the Phenex's Peerage and heads straight for Riser after dealing with the females.

**(Hengen suru tsugihagi darake no risou dewa****sugu ni kiete shimau kara!) **Riser flies up in the air with his fire wings and Ryu follows suit with his energy being released through the sole of his feet and shoes and clash high in the sky with fist against fist, kicks against kick, and yellowish colored fires against copper colored lasers.

**(Towa e tsuzuku kawasu chikai****furue dashita karada no soko kara!) **Ryu slowly held up his Sacred Gear and the jewel shines once more with a light so intense that made Riser cover his eyes from its intensity. Red flames spread around Ryu's entire body and an armored silhouette slowly makes it appearance within the flames with emerald green eyes piercing through the red fire.

**End opening song**

* * *

_**Afternoon, Training Grounds**_

**[BOOST!]**

**"SWORD BIRTH!"**

Multitude of swords in different varieties arise around the very soil Kiba and Ryu stood. At the same time, the red gauntlet materialized on Ryu's left arm.

"You can do it, Yuuto!" Yelled out Rias to give her Knight a morality boost.

"Hope you're ready, senpai."

Kiba slowly clutched onto two swords. Ryu twitched his finger at the movement made by his kouhai.

...

_**CRACK!**_

The Sacred Gear users kicked off with cracks formed on the ground they just stood a second ago and clash their weapons against each other in an attempt to overpower one another, sparks coming off of Kiba's dual swords that confronted Ryu's Boosted Gear.

"Tch... Don't think all my abilities rely on my swords alone." Kiba commenced a brutal assault of rapid slashes on Ryu's gauntlet. Ryu's eyes narrowed in feeling actually being pushed back by Kiba's strength. Quickly, Ryu thought of a way to halt the wave after of attacks...

_**CRASH!**_

Ryu's Sacred Gear broke Kiba's blades by giving them a good backhand swing.

"I still have more at the ready!"

"Keep at it, Kiba-kun! Cheered Akeno to encourage Kiba.

The blonde male already leaped back in preparation and took out two more swords. This time, one cloaked itself in lightning and the other in wind. Utilizing the Knight trait to increase his speed, Kiba attempts to flank Ryu's right side.

"You can do it, you too!" Exclaimed and motivated Asia.

"Dodge this!"

Ryu, seeing it coming, jumped up in the air, and collided back with the ground using the Boosted Gear to create a massive crater and destroy most the inactive swords Kiba created.

_**BOOM!**_

"Whoa! Ryu-sama is amazing!" Raynare lovingly gushed out.

"To have such strength, even when he's restraining himself..." Rias gazed intensely at the prowess her classmate is showing.

"Gah!" Kiba managed to only have been skidded back but the shockwave still damaged him slightly. "I'm still not done!"

Kiba did not let up and charged forward, unleashing an unrelenting storm of slashes that kept going faster and faster. Ryu knew that his opponent's increased attack speed originate from the elemental enhancements in the swords Kiba is wielding simultaneously.

"I designed these weapons especially for frontal attacks!"

Ryu could already feel attacks connecting no matter how much he kept dodging and deflecting them with his gauntlet. So using his previous tactic, Ryu swung his left arm wildly to the left, shattering the two swords like last time, and countered with a direct punch to Kiba's cheek.

"Aaagghh!"

The Gremory Knight instantly flew from the power of the fist backed up by the material of the gauntlet and he rolled several times across the ground until he managed to flip himself back on his feet and using the momentum remaining, Kiba backflipped to land next to a claymore.

"Final stretch, senpai?" Kiba asked while pulling the claymore off the ground.

Ryu nodded with a smile and readied his Boosted Gear.

_**Fwoo!**_

The two pushed as much strength in their legs as possible and charged towards one another in a final clash.

_**BOOM!**_

The claymore and gauntlet made contact and caused another explosive force to happen.

Once the explosion cleared up, Ryu held out his armored fist, an inch away from Kiba's face.

Kiba holding his claymore with two hands in a vertical position, blocked by Ryu's right forearm guard.

...

"Heh..." Kiba's bloody and bruised lip curved upwards. "You're no fair, senpai. Having your armor covering you like that. I thought I had this in a draw at the very least." Ryu lowered his stand and rubbed his head sheepishly, not bothered by the cuts and slashes that covered his body. "It was still a great match." Kiba lowered his stance next and gave each other a fist bump.

"You were amazing as always, Ryu." Ryu found himself blinking and glancing back to see Shirone hugging his back. "I'm covered in blood..." "I don't care. It's your blood..." Ignoring what the notepad said entirely, Shirone rubs her cheek against Ryu's. "Purr~"

"Well, Ryu-kun. It's time for dinner so how about we go back inside the mansion? I'm sure you're hungry after all that training." Akeno suddenly appeared next to Ryu and hugged one of his arms firmly in between her bountiful bosoms. Ryu nodded rapidly at that as his stomach growled for food.

"Great idea, Akeno. I can help you on that too." Rias cheerfully said. Ryu perked up at this and raised his hand to volunteer in making the food. This got quite the shocked looks from everyone but Shirone and Asia. "Yay! We'll have Ryu's cooking for today also!" Asia was absolutely exhilarated in seeing Ryu make the food. "Very well. I'd like to see how Ryu's food taste like. I'll help you with the cooking." Offered Rias. "Actually, buchou... I was hoping in being the one to help him." Rias blinked at Akeno's suggestion. "That's fine. So we'll leave it to the two of you. After Ryu and Kiba get patched up and cleaned off." Ryu's expression turned sheepish again and Kiba chuckled in realizing that his shirt did have blood that was coughed out.

* * *

_**Afternoon, Kitchen: Ryu and Akeno**_

Once Ryu and Kiba were healed from any remaining injury and cleaned off of any blood, Ryu and Akeno began to prepare the food.

"Ne, Ryu-kun. What will you be making?" Ryu placed a finger to his lip and winked at her. Akeno pouted at Ryu's sign language. "Mou (Geez), Ryu-kun... You're a tease If you're not going to tell me, then I won't tell you what I'm making either." The black-haired Devil looked serious when she said this.

...

Akeno was the first to go down by going into a giggling fit. Ryu shortly followed with a silent chuckle.

"Thank you again for helping us get stronger, Ryu-kun. I feel that my weaknesses became my strengths after all the work you've given me." Ryu nodded in acknowledgement. "And thank you for being there for us in our time of need and helping us. You haven't asked anything in return and yet... You've done so much for us. Even if it seems little to you." Ryu blinked in wonder, momentarily stopped peeling the potatoes to listen Akeno speak.

"Did you know that Rias wasn't actually as... Forceful as she was with you?" Ryu didn't really nod or shake his head to that. "She is actually kind and tries to get to know a person better. She understands that she did not go through the suffering you or I went through. And yet she tries to get to know someone to have some understanding of the person. Rias does care for the people around her and tried to get a better perspective about you by looking in your files or having Shirone follow you."

Ryu glanced down at the pile of potatoes he has already peeled and the one he held in his hand that has yet to be peeled.

"I know that Rias still tried to recruit you, but that's because she's afraid. Afraid that her family and Riser would win in the end and she will have to marry him. She thought in getting you, she could have a fighting chance." Akeno giggled at the irony. "In the end, you're still helping her and even us. We technically become an extension of Riser's Peerage through the marriage and neither of us don't want each other to suffer, Rias included." Ryu moved his gaze back to Akeno and that nearly made him jump in surprise.

How could he not be surprised?

Akeno's face was just inches from Ryu's.

"You're someone who's been through a lot, aren't you?" Ryu was taken back by the sudden question. Regardless, he still nodded. "I have too. My mother died to a group of Fallen Angels. She was a simple shrine maiden and most importantly; a normal human." Akeno eyed Ryu's calculative look and nodded when his face dawned in realization. "Yes. The Himejima Shrine. We worshiped the gods and goddesses of the Shinto Faction." Ryu frowned at the fact Akeno's mother was killed when she was a human that couldn't fight back. "Rias eventually found me while I hid and ran from the Fallen Angels trying to kill me next." Ryu's eyes widened tremendously. "Yes... I was just a little girl at the time. That's when I also developed a hatred for Fallen Angels and I never thought of forgiving them... Yet here you are: Having forgiven four Fallen Angels after trying to kill you twice and attempted to kill Asia too and allowing the leader of the operation to join you. You taught me that not everything should be judged by first impressions."

Ryu's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Akeno almost immediately caught the confused look. "My father is a story for another time. I apologize, but... It is not something I wish to so easily speak about." Ryu nodded in respect, no hesitation or a second thought given whatsoever. "Thank you, Ryu-kun. Now..."

_**Chu~**_

Akeno, once more, kissed Ryu. This time, on his lips. She propped herself on his lap and her arms around his neck, pressing their lips even further to deepen the kiss. Their cheeks blushing brightly.

"Mmf... Fuu... Wyu-khun (Ryu-kun)..."

Akeno throatily moaned after she stuck her tongue inside of his mouth and explored every little inch in his mouth to savor the taste of him. Ryu, on instinct, didn't do anything to fight back and let her do what she wished.

Pulling back, Akeno looked at the bemused and blinking expression of Ryu's and giggled again. "I hope that I can be someone you can love like Shirone or Kuroka someday, Ryu-kun." Ryu began to tremble on how Akeno figured it out. "Fufufu. Don't worry. I won't say anything about it." Ryu gulped and relaxed enough to ask through his notepad, "How did you know?" Akeno smirked and placed a finger on Ryu's nose. "Woman's intuition~"

* * *

_**At the table...**_

Everyone excluding Ryu and Akeno gawked at the large buffet of food on the table. Ranging from Old West dishes like biscuits, mashed potatoes, and sausage links to Asian dishes such as teriyaki, rice balls, and dumplings.

"Ryu-kun and I have decided to call this..." Akeno glanced at Ryu. The mute nodded and held up his notepad, "Old East."

Shirone was the first to try a plate filled with random dishes.

...

"It's delicious." Shirone commented on the food.

"Then allow me to go at it next." Kiba said.

"And you used absolutely no magic in this, Akeno?" Asked Rias with slight skepticism.

"Fufufu. You wound me, buchou." Akeno spoke with mock hurt.

"I apologize... I just find it difficult for even myself to make a large dinner such as this that is filled with such diversity and manage to still make the taste in the dishes mend well with each other. Without using magic, that is." Akeno giggled. "I had help." Ryu grinned and waved at Rias. "I can most definitely tell. He truly does have a bond with his ancestry then."

Everyone in the table ate and relished at the explosive flavors that came with all the food. All in all, it was a successful dinner for Ryu and Akeno.

* * *

_**Night, Balcony**_

Ryu sat down on the edge of the balcony to get some fresh air and think. He hasn't done this in a while like he usually does. The Rating Game was tomorrow and he isn't exactly sure if Rias and her Peerage members would win. The entire odds were against them by 1 to 4 in sheer numbers alone. Ryu did not like Riser, but he knew the Phenex had combat expertise and so did his servants. There were so many things favoring Riser's side and Ryu had to stop and wonder...

Were they going to really win?

He might have trained them, but it was only for 12 days and that is not enough time to just get incredibly good. His knowledge about demonic energy is near rock bottom, so he can't work with them about their magic. It was really a stressful time for Ryu that he could not accomplish in making them stronger.

The next thing that kept returning from the back of his mind were these pieces of armor on him.

Why did Kuroka put them on him?

Could he remove them?

Are they there for a reason?

Ddraig, of course, sensed the distress of his companion.

_**[Do not fret over it, partner. They are simply made to mask your holy and demonic energy.]**_

Hide the energies, huh?

_**[Sadly, they prevent you from using them as well.]**_

It made sense. How can he mask something that he would be using out in the open?

And ever since the rescue mission of Asia, he's been feeling as if his consciousness is being pulled back and forth between two places that do not originate from his own psyche or the Boosted Gear itself. He has been trying to fight these things back too and kept getting headaches or mood swings out of it. More and more, he began to feel his eyes dilate so many times to different sizes.

How long has that problem existed?

Then there was the problem with the scar on his throat, but that was related to the death of his parents. He knew that much.

But why can't it be healed?

What is preventing it from actually healing and letting him talk?

If what everyone keeps saying is true about someone being mute really rare, why is it there?

What was wrong with him? What events happened around him to make him such a wreck?

"Ryu-kun?"

Ryu jerked his head back in order to see Rias dressed in a hot pink nightgown with a pair of reading glasses.

"You can't sleep either?"

Ryu shook his head. Rias carefully sat on the edge next to him. "How have you been feeling lately?" Ryu took out his notepad right after she asked, "You realized it too?" "Your condition is not something normal. Even by supernatural standards, Ryu-kun. The ones that are mute are the ones that are cursed to have their ability to speak nullified. Your personality issue is something not common too. How you continue to dilate your eyes when your personalities switch is quite concerning. Although, you never seem to pay attention to when someone mentions that. Eheheh... I'm not sure why I'm saying it now if that was the case..." Rias scratched her head with a sheepish and confused expression.

Ryu's breath hitched in his throat.

"Hmm? Something wrong?"

Ryu glances at Rias and shook his head.

"Tomorrow will be the fight between Riser and I..." Rias spoke solemnly. "And the Phenex are known to share the immortality granted by the original, pure Phoenix... An attack at least at Sub-Class God level can truly take down a Phenex for good or giving it a mortal wound... Our only option is then to make him submit." Ryu didn't say anything. Instead, he tapped his notepad to get her attention. "Hmm? What is it?"

"I want to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"I'm sorry."

Rias got confused at the sudden apology. "Sorry? For what?"

"For not taking your feelings and thoughts into account."

"..."

"The entire time I've known you, I've kept ridiculing you and disrespecting what you have to say. I have not considered deep enough that you have emotions too and that you can feel like everyone else can. I even made you cry."

"..."

"And for that, I'm sorry."

Rias stared at the notepad and back at Ryu.

_**Fwoooh~**_

The soft blowing of the wind was the only thing that kept silence apart from the atmosphere.

"Ryu..."

_**Paf**_

The familiar sound of a hand placed on someone's head.

"It's fine." Rias rubbed his head affectionately. "You are right in the things you've said before. I should not stoop myself below those that became corrupted in power. And after giving it thought with Sona on the phone, you were right that it was incorrect for us to take away something that humans made. That's why we decided the day you do become strong enough to make your stand for humanity, we will free this city from being a simple territory. One day... One day when you get strong enough to finally achieve your goal of placing a stone for humanity to step on towards true independence." That's when Rias lowered her hand from Ryu's head.

Ryu is left stupefied in hearing all of this.

"I love this world just as much as you and it's the reason I'm here with my Peerage. I've always been fascinated by how humans interacted and I do happen to be familiar with their involved history of their endure and survival against the wrath of any supernatural being. Sona loves this world too but let's be honest: She will never admit it." Rias stuck her tongue out playfully with an eye closed. Ryu stared at Rias' face and laughed really hard. There was no sound coming out, but his red face from too much laughing was evidence enough.

"By the way, Ryu..." Ryu forced himself to stop laughing. Wiping a tear away, he turned to Rias' direction and barely caught sudden movement.

Again, Ryu was taken by surprise. Only this time, it was Rias just giving Ryu a hug. "Thank you for everything you've done for us..." Rias kissed Ryu on the cheek like last time. Ryu smiled at the compassion and hugged Rias back with equal effort.

* * *

_**Ryu's room**_

"Sigh..." Back to using the one thing that he can do to make noise: Sighing. Ryu laid on top of the large, king sized bed he was temporarily given. Thinking about the things that have happened up till now were now a blur to him. So many things have happened to him and so many questions piled up. He kept wondering when will these questions be answered for him. Better yet, who will answer them. Ddraig, even with his vast amount of knowledge, claimed he does not know what is going on within himself.

He really was confused on what was going on...

"Ryu..."

Ryu heard his door open and close along the sound of Shirone. He sat up from his bed to see it was indeed Shirone, blushing and casting glances between him and the floor.

"Could you... Please take me...? For good luck before the fight...?" The request that he did manage to understand most definitely took Ryu by surprise if the blush on his cheeks meant anything. But he could not refuse such a request from one of the women he deeply loves and has been there for him. So he nodded.

_**(Warning: Lemon inbound! Proceed to next text like this one to skip it entirely!)**_

Shirone got on top of Ryu's bed and slowly crawled her way to him, loosening the kimono on her shoulders with each movement made.

"A-allow me to start..." Shirone gently pulled his boxers down and meowed out of shock when she saw the massive rod of meat that nearly hit her face. _"I-it's really big!" _Ryu looked quite nervous and worried that she changed her mind. "A-ahh..." Shirone's blush only increased when her enhanced sense of smell picked up on Ryu's _thing_. "This smell..." Her eyes became heavily glazed and started to lick his rod, making Ryu twitch at the sudden contact.

"Nn... Mah..." Shirone's tongue just kept exploring every area of the shaft and stuck her tongue to the very tip. Ryu flinched from the massive jolts of pleasure spread throughout his spine when Shirone started licking the very tip of his dick. Ryu flinched when Shirone's tongue started to lick the very tip of his rod. "Aaahhn~" Shirone opened her mouth widely and took in a quarter of his dick in one go. Ryu could do nothing but grunt silently as Shirone kept bobbing her head up and down with his meat in her mouth.

"Mmm... Nhh..."

Ryu, going by his instincts again like last time, placed both of his hands on top of Shirone's head. This caused Shirone to briefly stop in her activity and look up to him innocently in wonder.

"Mmf!?"

Only for her eyes to widen when Ryu violently pushed her head down deep and forcefully shoved his fully erect dick down her throat and mouth. Shirone's eyes narrowed to the point they were barely open as she allowed her beloved to violate her mouth and throat, moaning and purring in pure bliss and pleasure each time his bulging cock forced itself deep in her throat and tasted every inch of it whenever her head was pushed down.

"Mmmph..."

Ryu kept pushing and pulling her head faster the more he felt himself reaching his limit.

"MMMMM!"

Shirone scream was muffled as cum flooded her entire sense of taste and flowed down her throat.

"Mmf... Hhmm... Hah..." Shirone pulled herself away from the still energetic cock after swallowing the last drop of sperm. "Hah... Ryu-kun..." The Neko pulled up the hem of her kimono to show her soggy wet panties. "I-I can't take it anymore... Please... Give it to me..." Ryu nodded again and gently led Shirone to hover on top of his lap. Shirone did so and grabbed his dick, positioning it to go into her twitching, plump pussy when she sat down on her lover's lap. She squeaked a bit a bit when the burning hot rod touched the entrance and kept going deeper and deeper slowly.

"HII!"

Shirone let out a cry of pain and pleasure when it finally broke right through her hymen. And like last time, Ryu, as his innocent self, became concerned about the blood leaking out of her pussy.

"I-it's fi-fine, Ryu... You can move..."

Ryu looked up to see Shirone putting up a strained smile. Ryu smiled back and nodded.

"Ahhn~!"

Shirone moaned out upon feeling Ryu's thing push up inside of her. Ryu kept pushing his hips upwards and pumping his dick in her pussy.

"Faster... More... Please..."

Ryu complied by pushing the Youkai on her hands and knees. Ryu shoved his entire dick in one thrust and began thrusting inside of her with more force.

"Hyah~! It's reaching deep inside of me!"

Ryu grabbed a hold of her ass and squeezed them to give push himself deeper inside of her. Shirone kept moaning and panting uncontrollably in pleasure. Her eyes seemed to only get more and more glazed each time she felt Ryu thrust inside of her and tightened up every single time it went in deep in her.

"Nya~! It's hitting my womb~!"

Ryu placed Shirone on her back against the bed and continued to ram his dick against her tightening walls in her pussy. He then reached his hands and grabbed the voluptuous orbs that were her breasts.

"M-my breasts! They feel way too good~!"

Shirone moaned even more to the point her tongue stuck out when she felt Ryu's firm and soft hands grope and fondle her breasts around that she started to climax more and more. Her mind went entirely blank and could think or want nothing more than this experience she was feeling. She arches her back when she felt his hands get rougher by squeezing her bust and sucking on her pink, hard nipples.

"Nyyaaahh~! My mind is going blank! I-I can't handle anym- mmf!" Shirone's moans and cries were muffled with Ryu's lips and gladly kisses him back. Intertwining tongues and exchanging saliva.

"MMMMMMNNNN!"

With one last muffled cry, Shirone climaxed once more when she felt Ryu's hot cum filling up her womb.

_**(Lemon ends here)**_

* * *

_**Later...**_

"Thank you, Ryu-kun." Shirone thanked. Ryu smiled and nodded.

"Your first time... It was with Kuroka, huh?" Ryu nodded again. Shirone softly smiles at that bit of info. "I suppose that it isn't bad. We both love you. I just feel bad that she cannot be with us like she used to be... I really don't like their sick, twisted laws..." Ryu perked up at that and grabbed his notepad from the counter.

"Can you give me a spare book on the laws in the Devil Faction?"

"Um... Sure. I don't know why you would want that... But I'll get it for you. In return..." Shirone leaned in and pecked Ryu on the lips. "There~" Shirone giggled. "And... I spoke with Kuroka about you being with other women." This definitely got Ryu's attention. "I think you should do that. It isn't uncommon for males and even females to get a harem in the world of the supernatural." Ryu blinked a few times at that. "Well... See you later." Shirone waved goodbye to which Ryu waved back before Shirone left the room.

* * *

**_The next day, ORC building: Ryu and co._**

"Wish us luck, you three." Said Rias.

It was the day that Rias and her Peerage would face against Riser and his own Peerage. Kiba wore shin guards and arm guards. Shirone wore her white kimono as usual. Akeno wore her priestess outfit. Rias donned in her school uniform.

"Good luck. To all of you." Wrote down Ryu on his trusty notepad. Raynare and Asia each sent their best wishes for the Gremory's team.

"Ojou-sama. It is time. Lord Sirzechs and your father have decided to personally watch this Rating Game for themselves." Spoke Grayfia. "Nii-san and Tou-san is watching, huh...?" Rias looked conflicted, but shrugged it off. "Very well. We are prepared." Grayfia nodded. "Sitri-sama and her servants will also view the match. But from the Student Council Room. I am sure that is where you will be watching the match from?" The question at the end was directed towards Ryu, Raynare, and Asia. Ryu nodded in confirmation and head out to the school building with Asia and Raynare in tow. Ryu spared one last glance to his friends and smiled in encouragement right before the double doors closed.

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

**Ending: Rolling Star by Yui**

**(Yume ni made mita you na sekai de arasoi no naku heiwa ni kurashitai) **Camera shows the streets and buildings of Kuoh City that had fast moving shadows of bestial and demonic looking creatures. Suddenly, a human shaped shadow carrying what seemed to be two swords, lunging at the other shadows and the camera panned to show it was actually Ryu jumping up high in the air and then slashed the screen with his swords.

**(****Mou gaman bakka shiterannai yo ****iitai koto wa iwanakucha****) **The screen split into three from the slashes and now shows Ryu jumping across rooftops with Asia on his back and Kuroka and Shirone following behind him, all of them smiling in joy.

**(****Kaerimichi yuugure no basutei ****ochikonda senaka ni Bye Bye Bye!)** The scenery switches to show Rias and Sona playing a game of chess against each other in the ORC Clubroom and their Peerages doing other miscellaneous things or watching their Kings play.

**(****Kimi no Fighting Pose misenai Oh! ****Oh!****)** The scene swapped again to show Ryu standing in the middle of the streets at nighttime, now in his serious personality. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he leapt towards the screen and punches it. This caused it to shatter to small shards of glass.

**(****Yume ni made mita you na sekai wa ****arasoi mo naku heiwa na nichi jyou!****) **Now it demonstrates Ryu blocking a punch from Dohnaseek and counters with a punch of his own to the face, knocking him away. Next, he ducks to avoid a kick from behind by Kalawarner and counters with an uppercut that sent her flying. Lastly, he launches a beam of bronze colored energy at Mittlet that destroyed the incoming light spears in the process.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa hibi to rabu te ****tama ni kuyandari shiteru) **Swiftly turning around, Ryu charges towards Raynare, his gauntlet at the ready and jumps in the air to reach her with an open hand and she responds to throwing a light spear at him.

**(Sonna ROLLING DAYS!) **The entire screen went white right after.

**(Short Instrumental) **_A short series of flashbacks of all the times he fought against his foes that included Stray Devils, Freed, and the Fallen Angels play in his mind._

**(****Kitto uso nante sou imi wo motanai no) **Ryu falls to the floor, the bangs of his hair covers his eyes, and blood littered his torn up clothes and body.

**(All my loving… ****Sou janakya yatterannai!) **Two hands are offered in front of him and looks up to see Rias, Kiba, Akeno, and Asia and the hands belonging to Kuroka and Shirone.

**(Yume ni made mita you na Sweet Love ****koibitotachi wa kakure ga wo sagasu no) **Ryu gladly took the assistance and stood back up on his feet.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa aenai hi ga****tsuzukinagara mo shinjiteru no Lonely days****) **Slowly raising his hand up, Ryu summons his Boosted Gear once more. The gem shines brightly and gives the white background made by the shining moon a more vibrant and beautiful color.

**(Tsumazuitatte Way to go!****Yeah! Yeah!) **The group behind Ryu smiles at seeing him stand up and as he raised his armored hand up in the air.

**(Dorodarake ROLLING STAR!) **The screen soon becomes engulfed in a sea of green light by the gauntlet.

**End ending song**

* * *

**There's your lemon to that one guy that PM'd me about achieving both 69 Followers and Favorites (which I am VERY thankful that you readers Favorite and Follow my story)! ****Pff- hahahaha! Welp, I'm sure you at least most of you know how this will turn out and how Ryu is going to get his name known by the supernatural now, huh? It's not going to be the person (that you might know who he will fight) he beats that marks him as an interest of foe. It's _how_ he beats the opponent. And like I said before: Many of you know how this volume might end up, but you do not know the process entirely.**


	16. Party Crasher

**Last chapter was not my best, I'll admit that. I'm still human after all. Sure, I crank up chapters freaking fast, but they're not going to be perfect. This is my first fanfiction and this _is _titled as a _zero _volume. Meaning it's not an actual volume, it's a prologue of prologues; a prototype.**

**Billy the Kid 730: It was a shorter chapter so maybe that's why it felt rushed. The "luck" thing was just a font. I left plenty of hints as to why Shirone would really do it and it's my job as a writer to be a douche and let you figure it out on your own. And no, it wasn't a distraction. She can just use Senjutsu.**

**(First) Guest: Thanks. Got it fixed.**

**(Second) Guest: Ehh... Not saying!**

**puppy13: I don't know why, but I laughed intensely at your comment.**

**AidosX: Those are some heavy assumptions. I'm curious as to how you came up with something similar to Sasuke and Itachi.**

**Blazedragon94: Oh, look at that. Chapter's here.**

**Tmax99: Thank you as always.**

**Kazuyeau: Stay tuned!**

**shinozakikuroko7 (Can't seem to put the periods on your name, sorry...):Well thanks! Surprised many enjoyed the last chapter when there some that didn't like it.**

**(Third) Guest: There will be an entire series of this so much will be made.**

**I don't own Highschool DxD!**

"I refuse to give up!" – Speech  
_"I can't keep up…" – Thoughts/Flashbacks speech  
_**[Hang in there!]/[BOOST!] – Ddraig speech****  
****_[Through the thick and thin, partner!] – Ddraig thoughts/Flashback speech_**

* * *

**Opening: Sympathy by Larval Stage Planning**

**(Tomo ni mou ichido tachiagare ****mamore hitotsu no inochi…) **The camera shows Ryu landing on the ground and narrowing his eyes at the Peerage of Riser as they prepare themselves for combat. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he charges at them and the green gem begins to glow.

**(****Tayasanu yo niiii!)** The glow stopped and the upcoming clash is replaced with the picture of the Boosted Gear itself across the screen horizontally and the title appears in the middle.

**_"古伝の竜守る Vol 0: 不羈 (Legend of the Dragon Protector, Vol 0: Freedom)"_**

Then the gauntlet and title turn to shiny green particles.

**(****Futatabi otozureta yoake ni me ga samete kimi wo omoi dasu yume no tochuu) **The particles vanished to show the ORC Club and scrolls from left to right to show Rias to Kiba, Akeno, Asia, and finally to Shirone and Kuroka. All of them smiling towards the camera.

**(Me no mae no zanzo susumanai ashidori ****toozakatte yuku hiriki na boku)**Once more, the scenery switched to the Student Council Room and scrolled from right to left this time to show Sona, Tsubaki, Saji, Momo, Reya, Tsubasa, Rukuro, and Tomoe, all smiling at the camera as well.

**(Taisetsu na mono wa doko ni aru? ****Ashita wo shinjiru nara wasurenaide!) **The screen returned back to Ryu charging towards Riser's Peerage and the camera panned to the females and zooms past them and closes in on Riser's smirking face.

**(Ima koso saa inochi wo kakete susumi dasu toki****omoi ga tsuyoi hodo tsuyokunaru!)** Ryu dodges, parries, and counters the attacks of the servants in the Phenex's Peerage and heads straight for Riser after dealing with the females.

**(Hengen suru tsugihagi darake no risou dewa****sugu ni kiete shimau kara!) **Riser flies up in the air with his fire wings and Ryu follows suit with his energy being released through the sole of his feet and shoes and clash high in the sky with fist against fist, kicks against kick, and yellowish colored fires against copper colored lasers.

**(Towa e tsuzuku kawasu chikai****furue dashita karada no soko kara!) **Ryu slowly held up his Sacred Gear and the jewel shines once more with a light so intense that made Riser cover his eyes from its intensity. Red flames spread around Ryu's entire body and an armored silhouette slowly makes it appearance within the flames with emerald green eyes piercing through the red fire.

**End opening song**

* * *

**_Morning, Mamoru Residence: Ryu_**

It has been a day after the Rating Game. They put up a good, sure, but it wasn't enough. Even when the Rating Game took place in a replicated Kouh Academy, a place the Gremory and her Pieces were familiar with, still lost from being outnumbered and outlasted.

Kiba took out five Pawns and a Knight. The Pawns were taken out with strategically placed traps. He was doing a good job until he got cornered by a Rook and Bishop.

Shirone took out three Pawns and a Rook. Then she got taken out by the Queen after she took down the Rook and Bishop, right when she was about to defeat the other Knight.

Akeno fought the Queen and quite easily annihilated the Knight. She would have won if the other Queen didn't use a Phenex Tear. That's where she lost next.

Rias fought Riser and his Queen. She got pretty far as to taking out the Queen with some level of difficulty. In the end, the useful bloodline of the Phenex Clan and his battle prowess gave Riser the edge to win over Rias.

And Ryu is here, sitting on the edge of his bed. Staring at the ground with such despair. He knew while he is just sitting here, the wedding was going on. Not even Raynare and Asia went up to his room to try and calm him down after seeing those lifeless eyes.

That's when it happened.

The red circle of the Gremory Clan appeared in the middle of his room and who arose from it was...

"Good morning, Mamoru-sama."

Ryu slowly turned his head to see it was none other than Grayfia Lucifuge. He gives a small smile and wave to which she actually broke out of her maid persona and smiled back, if only slightly. "It is nice to meet you again as well. I'm sure you are aware of what is happening right now between ojou-sama and Riser-sama?" Ryu's smile immediately fell as soon as she mentioned that. Hesitantly, he nodded.

"Do you wish to do something about it?"

Ryu's eyes show their usual shine again and nodded with rejuvenated energy in his movements. Grayfia's smile did not falter in the slightest and she takes out a pamphlet.

"'If you wish to save Rias and her Peerage, use this to teleport to the party and crash it.' That is what Lord Sirzechs wished for me to tell you. Will you take this opportunity?" Just when Grayfia finished speaking, Ryu already took the pamphlet, staring at it with intensity. Looking back up, he smiled at the maid and hugged her tightly.

This took her by surprise.

A random human wielding the Boosted Gear, hugging the Devil Faction's "Strongest Queen" and wife of the current Lucifer.

And you know what?

She hugged him back.

No funny feeling to the hug. No lovey-dovey hug.

Just... A hug a mother would give to her child. A mother encouraging her child to do what they wish to do.

Truly, a tender and heartwarming moment.

Something Ryu always needed. Something Grayfia gladly gave.

"You are a unique human... I can see why Rias and her servants speak much about you." The two broke the hug. "You can also tell your two occupants inside this household if you wish. I must return myself. Rias must have her dress ready for the marriage ceremony." Grayfia takes her leave via magic circle back to the Underworld.

**[I suggest you take this opportunity, partner. I would consider it fortunate that the Gremory's brother, the current Lucifer, is caring for his sister as to extend an invitation to you for the Gremory regain back the freedom she deserves. You will save the others in the process from the grasp of that Phenex. After you speak of this to the Fallen Angel and nun. I am sure they will want to join you in this journey.]**

Ryu nodded to this and heads downstairs to do just that.

Riser better bring his A-game. Because he will need it. For not even his regeneration will save him from the wrath of the "Dragon Protector."

* * *

_**Underworld - Ceremonial Building**_

"Lord Sirzechs, the Sekiryutei will be arriving just as you said." Grayfia stated as evenly as ever.

Sirzechs Lucifer. Formerly known as Sirzechs Gremory. Gifted with the "Power of Destruction" like the members of the Gremory and the Bael Clans. This man quite literally had the same hair style as Rias'. Except it was more wild and spikier than wavy and smooth like his younger sister and it reached his halfway down his back and also contained those signature teal eyes of the Gremorys like Rias. This man was a survivor of the Biblical War and declared as King of the Devils; Lucifer, for his power and strategic and successful attempt in defeating the descendants of the True Maous with others helping. Naturally, many and it is stressed that _many _of his own fellow Devils died in an attempt to take down the Original Maous. Unlike the previous ones though, he was kind, peaceful, and an all around calm guy. He always believed in resolving things peacefully instead through the means of violence.

"Ah, great. How was meeting him for the second time? I'm curious as to how the first time you met him before as well." Inquired Sirzechs.

"..."

"Already difficult to describe? Surely, it's not because you barely met him."

"No, it is not that. I am simply trying to find the words to describe what I witnessed in the child. And what I see is a pained soul. Torn apart in pieces. He's pieced back together whether on his own or with others. But he is still split in two halves. Judging by his records, he lost his parents too, never feeling the love and care of a father or mother to the fullest. He wishes to protect others and those who cannot fight for themselves, but he cannot protect himself. As ironic as that is."

Sirzechs frowned at such a sad fate given to someone so young. "That is truly tragic. For someone to have been placed in such torment and he still can keep going. But... We must move on from the subject. Carry on as usual; prepare Rias-tan for her wedding dress." Grayfia bows. "As you wish, my lord." She then proceeds to leave the room, leaving Sirzechs to his devices.

* * *

_**Later...**_

"Ah, Rias. You look quite beautiful in that dress."

Grayfia just finished dressing Rias in a white-themed wedding dress, as much as said red-head pouted and frowned. Riser, wearing a white and red tuxedo, after being told it was alright to come in, entered the room, and complimented Rias on her dress. Of course, she remains ever-scowling in the Phenex's presence.

"Now come, Rias, we are going to get married. You should be happy." Riser grinned at the idea of the marriage. Rias, on the other hand, scowled more. "Well... Riser will leave you with Grayfia-sama for a while longer in order to have any last preparations you need to make. We'll see each other at ceremony." Riser showed himself out of the room. As soon as the doors closed, Rias let out a breath she has been holding.

"If only... He was here... Not even Riser will stand up to him. I'm sure of it."

Grayfia peers at Rias' eyes. How they were filled with so much certainty in the orbs of teal that it amazed the maid. It showed the trust built with her sister-in-law.

"I also believe even Riser-sama would have trouble keeping up with Mamoru-sama."

Rias blinked and looked to the side to see Grayfia smiling ever so slightly.

"Grayfia...?"

* * *

**_Ballroom_**

The room where it was filled with many Devils. Either Kings or servants of Kings. But the main focus was Akeno, Kiba, and Shirone. Shirone wore a blood red kimono, Kiba wore a black tuxedo, and Akeno wore a dark purple dress.

"Sigh... We were so close too. Really close. If only I didn't get surprised by those-"

"Relax, Kiba-kun. We did our best."

"We failed Ryu-senpai and buchou though, Akeno-senpai... It was because of him training us so much that we were so close to win!"

Kiba smiled at remembering how hard Ryu trained them. How confident he was for the team. Thanks to one single human, they were nearly close to winning over someone who's won over Rating Games and a Phenex too!

"You're right, senpai. We did our best. That's what matters. Maybe some day, we'll find a way out of this. Or maybe we'll get used to it." Kiba said.

"I hope Ryu doesn't do anything too rash though..." Thought out loud Shirone.

"Fufufu. Maybe he'll come here to save us." Dreamily stated Akeno.

"May I have everyone's attention, please?" Everyone stopped whatever they were doing and turn to see Riser and Rias standing at the very front of the ballroom. Sirzechs stood before the two wed-to-be.

"Thank you. I would also like to appreciate every single one of you for coming here to attend this beautiful wedding between Rias Gremory and Riser Phenex. And also-"

"MY LORD!"

Everyone turned their attention to a kneeling guard stationed to... Well... Guard the ballroom.

"Reports say a a male with brown eyes and hair took down the guards outside the front door and heading here with a female Fallen Angel and a female nun!"

Sirzechs had to fight off a triumphant smirk in hearing this. "Tell me... Is this male... Have any brown hair and brown eyes?"

"Yes, my lord!"

"Tanned skin?"

"Yes!"

"Wears cowboy clothing?"

"Um... Yes, my lord...?"

"One last thing..."

"What is your question, my lord?"

"Is he human?"

The tone went completely serious in the guard's voice. "Yes. Although there are no traces of him falling to any descendant of Heroes."

Every guest gasped and began to murmur amongst themselves. The Gremory group stood in shock when they heard the details that described...

"...Ryu..." Murmured Shirone in disbelief.

"Ryu-senpai has come to try and stop the marriage? But..." Kiba trailed off into thoughts.

"Fufufu~ I knew he would come to save us." Akeno sighed contently, eyes glazed.

"Reports also say that he will be here at any mome-"

_**BOOM!**_

The double door was blown to bits and guards flew right past Rias, Riser, and Sirzechs and embedded themselves in the walls _hard. _Rias and Riser were left shell-shocked and Sirzechs could no longer fight back the smirk he has been restraining.

The sound of light footsteps penetrated the silent room. Walking out of the smoke, was none other than Ryu Mamoru. Raynare and Asia tailed right behind him until he signaled the two to stop as he continued to walk forward.

"Who are you to ruin this magnificent wedding!?" Riser shouted out in rage. The man did not stop walking, his cowboy hat lowered to cover the upper half of his face. Growling at the lack of response, Riser snapped his fingers and right at that moment was when two of Riser's Pawns leaped up into the air, holding flaming chainsaws. One for each of these pair of twins.

_**VRROOOM!**_

The cowboy-themed Ryu impassively stood with a hand in his pocket, patiently waiting for these two twins to come close to them.

Boy, will they wish they did not charge at the guy.

_**SCREEEEECH!**_

Riser, his servants, and the guests were left dumbfounded in seeing this _human _grab and _stop _the fiery chainsaws with no visual injury.

**_KRRRSSSHHH!_**

The chainsaw duo looked mortified when their minds processed what just happened by what they saw and heard just now.

_"He broke the chainsaws!"_

(Cue: Ryu's Theme)

Ryu left no room to react by instantly moving in for the kill. He grabbed the green haired twins by their heads and slam them against the floor. This caused a good amount of chunks in the ground to be destroyed around their small frames and cracks to below their their bodies. Most important part was the two being knocked out by the swift yet simple move.

"You're finished!"

Ryu gave no second thought of turning around and kicking the one about to attack him. Successfully knocking her back. Upon getting a good luck, it happens to be one of Riser's Rooks. The one with half of her face covered by a mask. With quick thinking and fast reflexes, Ryu used the Rook to spring himself up in the air and kick a Knight that was about to unleash her gargantuan sword on him whilst jumping high in the air. The force of the kick added with lacking defenses or armor on the Knight launched to her a wall before falling to the ground, effectively knocked out for the time being like the Pawns. And again with quick thinking, Ryu used that momentum in the kick to throw himself back to the Rook he used a springboard and somersault kicked her to the head.

The combo didn't end there.

Ryu, just as soon as he landed on the ground, uppercuts the Rook while she was still hunching over from the kick and hurled her up in the air from the strength packed in the punch. He idly noted another Pawn about to attack him from the back with a wooden staff. Already having a plan to counter the foe's tactic, he set it in motion by jumping up in the air once more, grabbing the Rook whilst in said air, and throws her like a human (Devil) rag doll downwards to the Pawn. Again, like before, creating a crater and those two were out of the fight.

"Hhaaaahhh!"

Ryu turned around lazily to find himself about to be attacked from his sides by two Pawns in maid outfits and two more Pawns by front and back.

The ones lunging from the front and back were unique.

Bakenekos?

Whatever, he needs to end this little charade.

Ryu leapt upwards, leaving the four Pawns to stop their attempted assault and had them look up to follow where he went. The only thing they saw was a bronze colored magic circle.

That was the only thing they saw once Ryu shot his signature laser from his index finger and passed through that very magic circle that amplified its power and multiplied it to shoot all four of them simultaneously. Fortunately, Ryu made sure the lasers to not destroy _too much, _so it only left four, human sized craters. Ryu lands on the ground again and removed any dust on his jacket.

"You're wide open!"

Ryu had his arms grabbed by another Rook that had most of her hair in buns. Then the other Knight with bandages wrapped around her hair and last Pawn with pineapple spiky hair went for the kill.

Wait for it...

Now!

Ryu reverse headbutts the Rook to loosen her grip on his arms enough to free himself.

"Too late!"

It was never too late.

It was all going according to plan for Ryu.

Right when the Knight prepared to slash him and the Pawn to punch him. Ryu just ducked these attacks and sent a well-timed, heavy fist to each of their stomachs.

Oh. The fists were charged with magic for added effect too.

The energy infused fists threw the other two members across the other side of the room. The energy explosion only added more damage.

"You're becoming quite the nuisance, child."

_**Fwoom!**_

Riser ignited his hands aflame. Sadly for him, those flames did not long.

"Arrgh!"

Ryu held up his left hand like a handgun and fired mini laser shots every single time the makeshift hammer that was his thumb was brought down. Their shots precise and deadly in piercing those flames and Riser's hands, getting grunts of pain from him. The regeneration kicked in so no injury nor scar was left.

"Why you little-"

"I'm afraid your fun is over, little one." Yubelluna floated on top of Ryu, staff prepared and a Bishop right behind him with her own staff prepared.

And that's when he noticed something.

Every Piece of Riser's Peerage save for one are right on top of him, charging right at him from above. Ryu simply raised his hat to show his face.

And it was pure apathy.

_**BOOM!**_

And he released a powerful burst of his magic energy that made all those that are charging at him to hit the ceiling or walls.

(End: Ryu's Theme)

Ryu sighed quietly and moved forward though slowing down enough to give a tip of his hat in greeting and a smile to Akeno, Kiba, and Shirone. Akeno waved with the usual carefree and happy smile, Kiba shook his head in an amused manner, and Shirone blushed while averting his gaze. The mute cowboy stopped in front of the little steps that lead to where Sirzechs, Riser, and Rias stood. Sirzechs seemed to have an expression that kind of read of relief and gratitude, Riser's expression is natural anger and rage, and Rias stared at her hero. Grayfia, having been next to Sirzechs the entire time, contained the similar feelings as her husband did. Ryu, with obvious deduction skills, narrowed the crimson haired man as Rias' older brother and current Lucifer for the Devil Faction.

"To whom I owe the pleasure, human? Or may we call you something else?" Pondered Sirzechs.

**[... I will speak for him. He is a mute after all.]**

That got people to jump in surprise.

"I presume you are his Sacred Gear. If that is the case, continue please." Sirzechs could never forget that voice. That voice that sent shivers down his spine including Grayfia. The voice that belonged to the Red Dragon as he fought with the White Dragon during the Biblical War.

**[His name is Ryu Mamoru. My partner. We came here as you requested of my partner.]**

"What does he mean by 'requested,' Lord Sirzechs?" The voice came from a blonde hair man with lightning blue eyes. Much like the woman next to him. It was clear they were both married by seeing the identical wedding rings on their ring fingers.

"Yes, I'm also curious as well, my son." Calmly spoke a mature male that looked like the father of Rias and Sirzechs. The man had a goatee, crimson slick hair, and teal eyes like all of the Gremorys. There was also a woman next to him, a clear cut copy of Rias albeit with a slightly mature... Chest compartment.

Sirzechs chuckled at the heads of their respective clans. "It was something I thought up myself. This human here is actually an ally to be exact. He has been making Kuoh City, Rias' and Sona's territory, a safer place for them for the last two years, almost three." Sirzechs chuckled again at the shocked looks of his mother and father when he spoke of this information. "Yes, the one that eliminated nearly and stable 85% of the Stray Devils. As you can tell, his power matches a High Class Devil itself. I thought it would be perfect. A human with no supernatural lineage or history, against the third son of the Phenex Clan."

More gasps. Big shocker.

"My lord, are you certain he has no lineage!?"

"How can someone with no supernatural involvement suddenly have power!?"

"This is an outrage!"

"A human here!?"

"85% of an entire Stray Devil population and kept that up for nearly three years!?"

"He even beat almost every single member of Riser's servants though! He _must _be powerful!"

More and more outrageous claims and questions continued to pop out of the guests' mouths.

"Yes, I am certain. As rare as it sounds, he has achieved a level of power from some unknown method." Spoke Sirzechs. "Now then. Do you object to this idea, Riser?" Riser cockily grinned. "Riser has no problems if the True King himself is offering Riser a match. It could be a good match too since this boy's level of power is similar to Riser's that he thinks it will give an actual challenge." Sirzechs nodded in satisfaction. "If that is the case, what will your wish be if you win this battle between a Phenex, Mamoru?" Ryu's eyes gave a small shine to show an idea popping up in his noggin.

**[The first thing partner asks of you is to call him through his first name. The prize for winning shall be the cancellation of this wedding.]**

Again, the sound of gasps vibrated throughout the ballroom.

"Very well. That will be arranged."

Riser stepped up. "Riser would like something in return if he wins." That's when Riser pointed at Raynare and Asia.

"Those two to be Riser's personal servants."

Ryu's eyes snapped open in hearing this and tensed his muscles to-

"Fine. He accepts."

His eyes got wider, if possible, and that's when he turned to see the Fallen Angel and nun directly behind him. Both of them having confidence written in their faces.

"Very well then. If Ryu is to win, the wedding shall be cancelled. If Riser is to win, these two females will be Riser's personal servants. Do these terms fit well to both sides?"

**[There is one last request if partner is to win, Gremory. There is a compensation for asking a secondary request.]**

Sirzechs blinked in being referred to what clan he is in instead of his status. It was not an important matter, so he simply nodded. "That is fine as long as this compensation is up to par or above it."

Ryu's gaze hardened. **[The second request shall not be spoken about until the end of this "game" and my partner won it. This compensation...] **Ddraig released a deep, rumbling chuckle.

**[Is my partner fighting Riser and his servants in a single match without a pause.]**

Silence overtook the entire atmosphere. For the Rias and her servants excluding Shirone, it was because of the boldness in that statement. They knew Ryu could take on the entire Peerage of Riser and walk away with possible exhaustion and heavy yet none life threatening injuries. The only reason he won so easily against them just now was from the element of surprise and they needed to suppress their powers in order to keep this building up and not crumbling. Something Ryu seems to do quite well if they were to be honest.

But to fight Riser at the same time too...

It was something they could not wrap their heads around.

Sirzechs looked troubled. He was aware of this man having the powers equal to that of a High Class with the Boosted Gear to boot... It just seemed a bit difficult to believe in the possibility of this achievement being accomplished. Yet he found himself confident Ryu could do it.

Riser, Ravel, his parents, and the parents of Rias and Sirzechs were at a loss of words. This was quite suicidal to fight one against fifteen if Ravel decides to stay out of the fight again as usual.

Raynare and Asia still had the utmost faith that Ryu would win. No hesitation in the slightest. There's no point to be hesitant anyways.

Shirone, however, knew _exactly _what the second favor was. Her lover was using the crowd's anticipation for a human metaphorically or literally going head-to-head with a Phenex. Adding said Phenex's servants will give the crowd entertainment and prove himself a more valuable ally, increasing his chances to get that second request come true. And to be honest with herself, she really didn't have any doubts. He knows what he's doing and would not fight without a back up plan or anything to support him in the battle to come.

"Are you confident you can do this, Ryu?"

Ryu nodded, no ounce of confidence lacking at all.

"If that is your decision. I'm sure no one will object the match between a Phenex with his servants against a single human with an unknown Sacred Gear can be quite exciting." The crowd begin to murmur in agreement. The idea of a fight like that made them metaphorically shake in anticipation. Or at least for most of them, some are actually shaking.

"If you insist. I'd like to ask of you to wait so we can heal Riser's servants." Riser growled in anger. "Do you think can really beat Riser and his servants?" **[This is not about fighting you and your team, Phenex. It's about making my partner's wish come true.] **Riser stopped his rant completely at hearing this and stared the face of conviction that Ryu had. "Hmph... Very well... In the end, I shall win." Ryu or Ddraig gave no indication of acknowledgement. Instead, Ryu walked up to Sirzechs and wrote something down for him to see only. "Huh... That is actually a good idea. Are you sure?" Ryu nodded as pocketed his notepad.

* * *

**_Later, inside an artificial reality..._**

Ryu looked around the artificially created reality. It looked like a cross between a battlefield and chessboard. Then he looked straight ahead to see the Peerage of Riser and the Phenex himself.

**"Greetings to both spectators and combatants. My name is Grayfia Lucifuge and I will be this match's announcer. Today, it shall be Ryu Mamoru fighting Riser Phenex and his servants. The only exception is Riser's Bishop, Ravel Phenex, shall not participate. The conditions for winning is for one side to beat the opposing combatant. In Mamoru's case, he must beat the entire servants and Riser himself."**

Riser and Ryu stared each other down while Grayfia kept speaking.

**"Are both sides ready?"**

Ryu, Riser, and his servants nodded.

**"Start in 3..."**

Riser's servants ready their weapons or fists.

**"2..."**

Riser himself crosses his arms over his chest with the calmest expression he can muster.

**"1..."**

Ryu flexes his muscles and jumps around a bit to get his body going.

**"Begin."**

Ryu and the entire Peerage of Riser charged forward. From outside the magically created reality, the Peerage of Rias looked in slight worry. Shirone being the most hopeful.

_"Win, Ryu..."_

_**To Be Continued...**_

* * *

**Ending: Rolling Star by Yui**

**(Yume ni made mita you na sekai de arasoi no naku heiwa ni kurashitai) **Camera shows the streets and buildings of Kuoh City that had fast moving shadows of bestial and demonic looking creatures. Suddenly, a human shaped shadow carrying what seemed to be two swords, lunging at the other shadows and the camera panned to show it was actually Ryu jumping up high in the air and then slashed the screen with his swords.

**(****Mou gaman bakka shiterannai yo ****iitai koto wa iwanakucha****) **The screen split into three from the slashes and now shows Ryu jumping across rooftops with Asia on his back and Kuroka and Shirone following behind him, all of them smiling in joy.

**(****Kaerimichi yuugure no basutei ****ochikonda senaka ni Bye Bye Bye!)** The scenery switches to show Rias and Sona playing a game of chess against each other in the ORC Clubroom and their Peerages doing other miscellaneous things or watching their Kings play.

**(****Kimi no Fighting Pose misenai Oh! ****Oh!****)** The scene swapped again to show Ryu standing in the middle of the streets at nighttime, now in his serious personality. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he leapt towards the screen and punches it. This caused it to shatter to small shards of glass.

**(****Yume ni made mita you na sekai wa ****arasoi mo naku heiwa na nichi jyou!****) **Now it demonstrates Ryu blocking a punch from Dohnaseek and counters with a punch of his own to the face, knocking him away. Next, he ducks to avoid a kick from behind by Kalawarner and counters with an uppercut that sent her flying. Lastly, he launches a beam of bronze colored energy at Mittlet that destroyed the incoming light spears in the process.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa hibi to rabu te ****tama ni kuyandari shiteru) **Swiftly turning around, Ryu charges towards Raynare, his gauntlet at the ready and jumps in the air to reach her with an open hand and she responds to throwing a light spear at him.

**(Sonna ROLLING DAYS!) **The entire screen went white right after.

**(Short Instrumental) **_A short series of flashbacks of all the times he fought against his foes that included Stray Devils, Freed, and the Fallen Angels play in his mind._

**(****Kitto uso nante sou imi wo motanai no) **Ryu falls to the floor, the bangs of his hair covers his eyes, and blood littered his torn up clothes and body.

**(All my loving… ****Sou janakya yatterannai!) **Two hands are offered in front of him and looks up to see Rias, Kiba, Akeno, and Asia and the hands belonging to Kuroka and Shirone.

**(Yume ni made mita you na Sweet Love ****koibitotachi wa kakure ga wo sagasu no) **Ryu gladly took the assistance and stood back up on his feet.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa aenai hi ga****tsuzuki nagara mo shinjiteru no Lonely days****) **Slowly raising his hand up, Ryu summons his Boosted Gear once more. The gem shines brightly and gives the white background made by the shining moon a more vibrant and beautiful color.

**(Tsumazuitatte Way to go! ****Yeah! Yeah!) **The group behind Ryu smiles at seeing him stand up and as he raised his armored hand up in the air.

**(Dorodarake ROLLING STAR!) **The screen soon becomes engulfed in a sea of green light by the gauntlet.

**End ending song**

* * *

**Holy... Fudge nuggets... _100 FOLLOWERS!? IMPOSSIBRUUUU!_**

**Phew... Wow... I didn't expect this. Really, I didn't. Thank you all so much for it too. I really am thankful for each and every one of you and those who Favorited this too!**

**Almost makes me want to spam the next chapter. Can't though 'cause it'll ruin the suspense.**

**Sorry...**

**But hey! Maybe I'll make it up with the next volume! Or something... Hmm... I don't know...**

**(Breathing intensifies) Riser vs Ryu. Who shall win!? Find out in the next chapter!**


	17. Dragon Protector vs Phenex's Fledglings

**Nothing to be said so reviews!**

**Piemaster981: Um... No comment.**

**Tmax99: Thanks and yeah, cliffs.**

**Blazedragon94: It'll be revealed in this chapter. Or the next...**

**AidosX: Fuck me, eh? Nice to see you too. Anyways, I'll let you believe what you want to believe. Mwuahahahaha!**

**DePlexx: Here's some more!**

**Guest: You okay there, buddy? If it helps, the chapter is right here.**

**DJdrake: Thank you very much. I also laughed extremely hard when I read your analogy with the formula 1.**

**Ricc850: Why thank you, good reader!**

**listohain: Thanks!**

**Don't own Highschool DxD. Enjoy the battle.**

"I refuse to give up!" – Speech  
_"I can't keep up…" – Thoughts/Flashbacks speech  
_**[Hang in there!]/[BOOST!] – Ddraig speech****  
****_[Through the thick and thin, partner!] – Ddraig thoughts/Flashback speech_**

* * *

**Opening: Sympathy by Larval Stage Planning**

**(Tomo ni mou ichido tachiagare ****mamore hitotsu no inochi…) **The camera shows Ryu landing on the ground and narrowing his eyes at the Peerage of Riser as they prepare themselves for combat. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he charges at them and the green gem begins to glow.

**(****Tayasanu yo niiii!)** The glow stopped and the upcoming clash is replaced with the picture of the Boosted Gear itself across the screen horizontally and the title appears in the middle.

**_"古伝の竜守る Vol 0: 不羈(Legend of the Dragon Protector, Vol 0: Freedom)"_**

Then the gauntlet and title turn to shiny green particles.

**(****Futatabi otozureta yoake ni me ga samete kimi wo omoi dasu yume no tochuu) **The particles vanished to show the ORC Club and scrolls from left to right to show Rias to Kiba, Akeno, Asia, and finally to Shirone and Kuroka. All of them smiling towards the camera.

**(Me no mae no zanzo susumanai ashidori ****toozakatte yuku hiriki na boku)**Once more, the scenery switched to the Student Council Room and scrolled from right to left this time to show Sona, Tsubaki, Saji, Momo, Reya, Tsubasa, Rukuro, and Tomoe, all smiling at the camera as well.

**(Taisetsu na mono wa doko ni aru? ****Ashita wo shinjiru nara wasurenaide!)**The screen returned back to Ryu charging towards Riser's Peerage and the camera panned to the females and zooms past them and closes in on Riser's smirking face.

**(Ima koso saa inochi wo kakete susumi dasu toki****omoi ga tsuyoi hodo tsuyokunaru!)** Ryu dodges, parries, and counters the attacks of the servants in the Phenex's Peerage and heads straight for Riser after dealing with the females.

**(Hengen suru tsugihagi darake no risou dewa****sugu ni kiete shimau kara!) **Riser flies up in the air with his fire wings and Ryu follows suit with his energy being released through the sole of his feet and shoes and clash high in the sky with fist against fist, kicks against kick, and yellowish colored fires against copper colored lasers.

**(Towa e tsuzuku kawasu chikai****furue dashita karada no soko kara!) **Ryu slowly held up his Sacred Gear and the jewel shines once more with a light so intense that made Riser cover his eyes from its intensity. Red flames spread around Ryu's entire body and an armored silhouette slowly makes it appearance within the flames with emerald green eyes piercing through the red fire.

**End opening song**

* * *

_**Last time...**_

_**"Are both sides ready?"**_

_Ryu, Riser, and his servants nodded._

_**"Start in 3..."**_

_Riser's servants ready their weapons or fists._

_**"2..."**_

_Riser himself crosses his arms over his chest with the calmest expression he can muster._

_**"1..."**_

_Ryu flexes his muscles and jumps around a bit to get his body going._

_**"Begin."**_

_Ryu and the entire Peerage of Riser charged forward. From outside the magically created reality, the Peerage of Rias looked in slight worry. Shirone being the most hopeful._

_"Win, Ryu..."_

* * *

_**Now...**_

Ryu ducked under a chainsaw that was aimed to chop and slice his head off. The chainsaw coming from none other than one of the green hair colored twins.

"Keep swinging faster, Nel!"

"I don't see you doing any better, Ile!"

Ryu jumped back to evade another swing made by one of the twins. Most people would think how he is in a pinch from fighting fourteen combat experienced Devils along with their also combat experienced King.

Said King is a Phenex.

Meaning the King has immortality.

Control of fire and wind.

And that meant control over fire and wind for the rest of the Peerage too.

Did this slow or demoralize Ryu down?

Nope.

Quite the opposite, actually. He even told Sirzechs and Grayfia to allow ALL of Riser's Pawns to have the permission in order to Promote to Queen.

While fighting off the female onslaught of different varieties.

Riser, in his case, would have been cocky or infuriated to the T if it were not the male brunette being the one he has to fight and Riser definitely sees the one fighting him is deadly. _Very _deadly. After all, he trained the entire Peerage of Rias and Rias herself. Even if he was carefree during the match, they were beating his entire plethora of servants!

Three servants having taken out nearly his entire team except Ravel and Yubelluna who was eliminated by Rias herself. That's when he needed to step in and fight Rias himself. Fortunately, his capacity in battle and his regeneration brought him to easy victory.

_"Riser must say, this Ryu kid has shown to be highly powerful. He is taking on everyone in Riser's roster of servants but Ravel and not show the slightest bit of exhaustion up to this point, including the eight Pawns that Promoted to Queen. He has yet to demonstrate what Sacred Gear he carries too. He reminds me a bit of Riser himself..."_ Riser is honestly impressed by the kid's reflexes and dedication.

He really has not seen what Ryu can truly do. Speaking of which, this is the part Ryu actually starts to fight. With as much professionalism and grace as he can muster. That said, the cowboy bishounen tips his hat upwards to get a good look on his opponents. This probably won't be considered a one-sided beat down when taking in the odds in numbers, but it'll hopefully be at least a half-assed, one-sided beat down.

The chainsaw twins made another attempt to take out the one-man team using their fire and wind enhanced chainsaws. Ryu just swatted the weapons aside. No need to worry about damage when his forearms are protected and even using their Queen stats would not help them in the slightest but no one needed to know that, now did they?

But he needed his wish to come true. It was a wish that is very important to him.

Following up to disarming the green haired twins, Ryu simply punched them with as little magic yet as potent as possible. The result was satisfactory judging by the eyes of the twins rolling to the back of their heads, sounds of crunching emitting from their torsos, and a heavy amount of blood poured out of their mouths. Maybe the guards on his person served as a good conduit since they _are _restraining his holy and demonic energy. You know, balancing things out.

**"Two of Riser's Pawns have retired."**

Ryu was left momentarily shocked when the two vanished in a flash of light. The shock passed by as quickly as it came because one, he figured it was to have them healed immediately and two, that girl with a staff was charging at him. Like every opponent he is facing here, the staff is charged with fire and wind. Ryu rolled his shoulders and lifted one leg up all the way, an easy feat with his flexibility granted by his combat and free running sessions. The blue haired Pawn stopped as soon as she saw what her enemy was about to do and tried to jump away.

Alas, it was too late.

Ryu brought his leg down like a blacksmith swinging his hammer with mighty force. His foot connected with the head and the result after the axe kick comes crashing down like dominoes.

Literally.

Rock and stone were demolished around Ryu and the Pawn in a five meter radius. Blood spewed freely from the bluenette Pawn's head and soon came that same flash of light.

**"One of Riser's Pawns have retired."**

"Hhhaaaahh!"

The Sacred Gear wielder instinctively bent his back backwards to avoid a downward slash coming to cleave him in half. It was a pretty huge sword too. It probably would not have been pretty if it made contact. Whether it was bad for the sword or himself is up for debate. Ryu used his peripheral to see it was the Knight that uses a giant sword. A large, flaming zanbato sword to be precise.

"You're wide open!"

And again, through his peripheral, Ryu had to dodge from another slash that came from a fiery, one handed blade by backflipping. The wielder of the second blade was the Knight that uses that very same sword and a knife in case she lost her primary form of weaponry. Another note made is that the brown haired woman wore an armor befitting of an actual armor won't help her, that's for sure.

Either way, it's about time he goes on the offensive and they hit the defensive right about now.

Ryu plants his feet firmly to the ground and bursts forth with strength that the rocky field he stood could not handle and resulted in being shattered to bits. The duo were left unprepared by the demonstrating of speed that far surpassed theirs and the only thing they could see was him grabbing the zanbato wielder by the head and throwing her to one of the monuments that resemble chess pieces. A knight chess piece.

How ironic.

Obviously, this ticked off the other one.

"Siris! You'll pay for that!" The armored brunette let out a battle cry as she tried to slash her opponent. Ryu tilted his torso to dodge it and cocked his fist back for a devastating punch. Unfortunately for Ryu, he found himself launched up in the air by a flaming kick to his chin, thanks to the Rook that wore a mask that covered her face.

"Phew... Thanks, Isabella..." Thanked the Knight to her fellow Rook. The Rook nodded in acknowledgement. "I think it's about time we actually work as a team, Karlamine." The Knight could not agree more. The two looked up in time to see the flying, kimono wearing Bishop blast the airborne foe to the ground using fire and wind magic with as much magic as she could muster. "Nice job, Mihae." "Seems like we won't be needing to work as a team thanks to you. "No need for thanks. I was only doing what needed to be done. For a human, he's very dangerous." Spoke the Bishop as she landed on smooth ground.

Just when everyone but Riser and Yubelluna thought of celebrating, the sound light footsteps caused them to freeze where they stood and willed themselves to turn to see where those footsteps originated from.

As they all suspected and what most dreaded, it was Ryu calmly walking from the human sized crater on the ground, having only just a few, minor, and insignificant singe marks on his clothes and the skin itself showed _no _injuries whatsoever.

**"May I remind the contestants that everyone can unleash their full power with no worries of environmental damage. This is, after all, an artificial reality."**

Ryu's eyes widened and gleamed when he heard that and began releasing a powerful aura. Most of the servants' expressions turned to one of pale-white dread as soon as they saw his expression and read his aura. They all thought of one thing and one thing only...

_"He was holding back the entire time!?"_

_**[If that is true then let us show them how much power you have obtained through your struggles, partner!]**_

(Cue: Ryu's Theme)

The Knight that was tossed just got out of the rubble, heavily injured by just one move. While she was shaking off the pain, a shadow lingered in front of her, and she focused her eyesight to see who it was. A gasp got stuck in her throat as soon as she saw who's shadow it belonged to and that was the only thing she was able to do before finding herself being thrown across the field and hitting the opposite chess piece monument.

Again.

Hard.

**"One of Riser's Knights have retired."**

Sad to say, the masked Rook is spared no mercy from Ryu as he dashed towards the mentioned Rook and kicked her chin with his heel.

Oh, sweet irony...

While that Rook is in the air, dazed, he turns his attention to the Bishop and leg swept her and just when the Knight came close to her sheathed sword's hilt, the singular male foe hailed a flurry of fists down on her. Too bad for her, the armor proved to have been completely useless as Ryu demonstrates by literally piercing through the thick metal. Her impaired and blurry vision by pain could only witness as the armor used to protect her was rendered useless and an upwards fist to the face was the last thing she managed to see before it all went dark for her.

**"The last of Riser's Knights has retired."**

Ryu performed a complete one-eighty turn with a fist coated in copper colored magic energy backed up with a magic circle to further enhance his next move and punched the ever-living daylights out of the still airborne Bishop.

Yes, the Bishop was still in midair from the leg swept while Ryu finished off the Knight. He's just that fast. And awesome.

Well... The awesome part is debatable.

The strength and energy packed into the punch is so compressed and concentrated, that it made the ground to simply explode and air to seemingly evaporate behind the punched victim. Poor girl had her bones and organs turned to mush. Didn't help that she thought it was smart to not have her magic active at all times so the damage is lessened.

Not that it would matter.

But seriously, why do most supernatural races need organs when the only organ they "supposedly" use is the heart?

**"Riser's Bishop has retired."**

Doesn't matter. Either way, he's winning this fight.

Ryu looked up in time to see a kick towards the very place he stood to which he jumps out of the way. As expected, a crater now took the spot he was previously standing on. Using pure instinct, Ryu backflipped whilst still in the air in time to dodge a kick that was on fire by one of those two servants that wore maid outfits. Sensing another one coming behind him, most probable the second servant dressed as a maid, he used the former maid as a stepping stone to leap away and prevent the second attempt of attacking him.

Like always, the enemy has left themselves open. In this case, the two maid dress up Pawns. In order to finish these two quickly, Ryu charged up his hands with magic and blasted the two with a contentious laser blast coming from both of his hands. And to top it all off, he made the lasers explode to add more damage to the Pawns.

Just in case.

**"Two of Riser's Pawns have retired."**

"Burent! Marion!" One of the Pawns yelled out.

_**[This artificial reality is truly resistant to attacks. I can sense it was made by Lucifer's Queen herself. Powerful indeed.]**_

Ryu continued to soar in the air and use the altitude for a bird's eye view. Get a clear analysis on the field and the remaining foes. 3 Pawns, both Rooks, the Queen, and the Kind only remain if he remembered correctly.

(End: Ryu's Theme)

* * *

_**Inside the ceremonial building...**_

Rias could only openly stare in disbelief when she saw Ryu beat the servants of that bastard Riser one by one.

"H-he's actually winning..."

Akeno turned to see her stunned friend and giggled silently.

"Did you really doubt him?"

Rias seemed livid when that question fully processed.

"Honestly, I didn't doubt Ryu-senpai to begin with. We all knew he is powerful."

The "Two Great Ladies of Kuoh" turned their attention to the "Prince of Kuoh." Rias, after taking those words in, looked down in regret. Regret of even thinking of doubting someone as kind, courageous, and strong as Ryu.

"You're... Right... I shouldn't have doubted him from the start..." Admitted Rias.

"It is natural to be surprised of someone such as Ryu Mamoru to be winning against the servants of a Pure-Blooded Devil from one of the Pillars."

The three turned to stare at the calm and collected Sirzechs. The Ruler of the Underworld continued to speak. "A human. A human with no historical past that involved the supernatural in any way, achieved power through means unknown, and trained and hardened his skills with those same abilities to the point he now rivals someone of High Class level. It is clear in his eyes and determination that he wants to accomplish something with that power. It might be big, it might be small, I am not sure myself to be exact. All I know, is the power he has obtained thus far will be used to help him reach that goal. In all my years and even those years that extended past the Great War, have I not hear or witness of a human achieving power on their own with no assistance of any race like gods or others like Devils or even the other two races that we fought. This battle, if he were to win, would solidify his presence to any and all that witness or heard of it."

"Onee-san..." Rias could only look up to her older brother with admiration for the first time in so long.

The heads of both the Gremory Clan and the Phenex Clan only watched the fight in silence. Contemplation clear in their thoughts through their expressions.

Raynare, Shirone, and Asia paid no mind to the conversation. What Sirzechs said is true and they knew that already. To them, it was more important to continue watching the fight and keep hoping for Ryu's safety and victory. To them, it wasn't about freedom or the fight itself, Ryu's health was more concerning and far more important. Shirone, on her end of the stick, has been also drifting to something else entirely...

_"I'm really sorry, Ryu... If only I didn't have a fear of using my powers, you wouldn't have to fight Riser... Would you? One of the main reasons of fighting him is to free not only Rias, but the others and myself too. And even have the chance to..."_

The saddened Nekomata could only mentally berate herself more. She was entirely conflicted between regretting to not use the full extension of her abilities or being grateful that Ryu has an opportunity to use this battle to mark his name in something for the supernatural to see. And maybe, just maybe... Fulfill one of the many selfless wishes he is trying so hard to accomplish right now and she knew exactly what that one wish was.

* * *

_**In the battlefield...**_

_**[Partner, behind you!]**_

Ryu, still in midair, twisted his body in order to see what was the warning about. The only thing he could was to widen his eyes at the sight of one of the two Bakenekos right behind him. The only conclusion Ddraig can come across was that she used Senjutsu to hide her presence and energy signature from Ryu's senses. Youkai, are after all, have a natural talent in using Senjutsu.

"Gotcha, nya!"

Ryu had no reaction and the blue haired Neko landed a clean, powerful punch filled with fire and Mahou (Magic) Senjutsu energy right on his cheek. It did not help she using her Pawn trait to be a Queen. The result sent Ryu flying towards the ground. Unfortunately, the masked Rook stood right where Ryu was going to land.

"No use escaping now, Mamoru."

The brunette Rook launched a devastating uppercut to Ryu's gut. Also covered in Phenex fire. The attack made successful contact and launched him high up in the air.

Ryu tried to recover and counterattack the two, but another Pawn, one with palm-tree looking hair, had already prepared to attack him before he could have the opportunity.

"Ah-ah-ah~"

The Pawn delivered a nasty kick that is aimed straight to his gut. Like everyone else, the leg was on fire. The trajectory of the kick and direction where he was sent flying towards to was fairly obvious where the next person he was going towards next is.

"Hhhaaahhh!"

The Rook in Chinese-themed attire took the chance to send a double punch, both fists lit on fire, and hit Ryu right on the chest. The blow launched him up in the air right to the second Bakeneko in Riser's group of servants.

"My turn, nyaa!"

Ryu could barely make out the fiery-orange counterpart of the blue Bakeneko.

And just briefly see a hammer fist rain down towards his face.

Oh joy for our protagonist...

* * *

**_Ceremonial building..._**

"RYU!"

Rias could only helplessly scream out the name of her savior, agonized from having to be stuck in the wretched building that reminded her of the freedom being taken away from her, watching the man she looked up to and aspired to be, suffer. Akeno and Kiba shared worried looks, not liking how things are going for the mute.

Shirone, Raynare, and Asia had concerned expressions. Ryu was winning the match at the rate it was going if only the servants remained going by one or two's. Granted, they still believe in him to win, but the attacks he was receiving only made them cringe and worry.

"This was expected. While Riser's servants may not be as powerful as he is himself, they are still strong. They gained this strength through training and multiple Rating Game matches. Even if what the documents are true that he eradicated around 85% of the Stray Devil population, I am positive he never fought against an entire team of servants and end up fighting the leader themselves." Analyzed the father of Riser.

"I still do wonder how he will counter this predicament. We have just seen him do it quite a few times during the beginning of the match. But... We shall see in the end. I'm actually excited to see who will arrive victorious. The child hasn't even drawn out his Sacred Gear yet too." Spoke out the father of Sirzechs' and Rias'.

"The poor child is suffering from this though... If he really is an ally, he should not be fighting one of the people he's aligned himself with..." Sadly said the mother of Sirzechs and Rias.

"I agree completely... Why is he doing this? Does he not like my son? Is it to just ruin the wedding? Because he loves Rias too?" The mother of Riser could only speak out the thoughts that plagued her mind.

Grayfia kept the calm facade she always wears. She obviously knew the real reason. Someone with so much combat experience, specifically war, her expertise in reading trusting or deceiving people, and added with her motherly experience gave her the edge of finding out what Ryu is fighting for.

_"My own estimate is that he is doing this to free Rias, but also free her servants, mostly the females, from the will of Riser. Most importantly, Shirone Toujou. Someone who is secluded from Rias would not willingly be so close to him back. I noticed this when I needed to stop their conflict in the human world. And if I'm correct on this too... His secondary wish is..."_

She needed to stop her thoughts there. She was going too far off in a tangent. She couldn't really speak of this either since she lacks physical evidence. But if she is correct on the secondary wish, then things will get a bit more... Hectic in the Devil Faction, knowing most Devils have such thick skulls and have incredibly high stubbornness to listen to things that don't agree with their own thoughts.

* * *

**_In the battlefield..._**

Ryu is having a bit trouble as the observers spoke amongst each other. The little ragdoll toss thing is still going on. The damages at first were insignificant. However, now they're looking like actual injuries after so many attacks have been made. Still, some minor burnt marks on his skin, burnt and punched holes in his clothes, and bruises with a busted lip are still petty when compared to the other damages that Ryu went through in the past. The total damage is stacking though, nothing changing that.

So, righting himself up just when he is punted to the air, ready to finally deal the damage in return. Hopefully, get these girls out in the process too.

"I don't think so, little one~"

Ryu's eyes narrowed and could only turn to see the Queen herself flying on top of him. Worst of all, the staff is pointed right at him.

_**BOOM!**_

Ryu immediately hit the ground when that bomb hit him and cratered a few good feet deep in the now obliterated rocky earth. Yubelluna noticed movement already being made in the crater.

"Fufufufu~ Did you really think my attack would stop there?"

_**BOOM BOOM BOOOM BOOOOOMM!**_

Yubelluna did not relent one bit in giving Ryu a hailstorm of bombs and explosive spells to make sure he was down for the count.

"Ah... A fine job, Yubelluna." Riser praised his Queen as said Queen landed next to the man she admired.

"I only performed what needed to be done, my Lord Riser." Yubelluna bowed politely to her master.

Everyone else walked back to their King, all panting in exhaustion from exerting so much power and energy into their attacks with no stop.

Except one. The palmtop tree hairstyle Pawn was actually approaching the smoking crater. She realized that the announcement of the human's defeat was not yet made. Riser took notice of it.

"Hmm? Shuriya?"

Everyone else turned their attention to the smoldering crater and the Pawn that is walking cautiously to that very same crater.

_**Fwoosh~**_

What felt like a strong wind passed right by the ground.

_**CRACK!**_

Followed by the sound of rocks breaking to pieces.

**"One of Riser's Pawns has retired."**

The entire thing left them dumbfounded. Indeed, they saw the shadow of a male figure. Standing in the smoke.

And as the smoke cleared through a burst of released power, the male is none other than Ryu. His head now had an injury, blood dripping down to his chin with numerous, bloody burnt marks thanks to the blasts and explosions. His clothes a tattered mess.

Even his hat is nonexistent. Literally, it's no longer there. To add insult to injury of this, his hair was even messier than before, added with blood and soot. Ryu is pretty mad about the hat part and they could see the rage flowing in his eyes.

But what was the most intimidating factor...

"The **_Boosted Gear_**..." Murmured the Rook in her Chinese dress. Everyone, and literally meaning _everyone _watching the fight had surprised looks when they saw Ryu's entire left forearm covered in red scaled, armored gauntlet that is the Boosted Gear. Riser involuntarily shuddered that an experienced and dangerous being like his opponent wielded a Longinus, a weapon made to slay gods. Mid-Tier Longinus, the Boosted Gear, to be exact. The mute brunette already has the ability to drawl out battles, enough to get a good amount of Boosts. Yes, drawling out the battles. Ryu has been making the conflicts with these servants longer to analyze openings, ways to finish them off fast, strategies to dodge their attacks.

This is one of Ryu's strong points: _**Adaptation**_ in combat. He will look for one or all of his opponent's weaknesses if they have any and exploit the heck out of them using different methods of attack that are best suited and seeing how strong, potent, and-or concentrated his next move will be used for his foes or to just dodge their every move if possible. He has demonstrated this before in all of his fights. The biggest weakness here was the lack of communication and understanding between the servants. At least until it was too late and now their numbers are cut in half.

Not that they have realized this though.

Does it matter if they have gotten smarter though?

No.

He'll just have to get smarter than they are. Not that hard to do.

**[Ah, you destroyed my partner's hat. Twas his favorite too. Congratulations to all of you, you have drawn out his ire.]**

Ryu extended his hand out and makes a "come on" motion.

(Cue: Ire of the Dragon Protector)

The two Bakenekos race toward Ryu whom calmly stands there. Right when they were a dozen meters away...

_**Crack!**_

He stomps on the ground. Normally, this would not be a very intimidating thing. But what happened next is _definitely_ foreboding...

_**Rumble rumble...**_

Two, gigantic chunks of earth rose from the ground and closed in on the Nekos and crush the two inside. He wasn't sure if that would be damaging enough or at all, so he grabs the now singular chunky piece of rock that was around the size of a small house...

_**Rumble...**_

_**Fwoo~!**_

_**CRASH!  
**_

_**BOOM!**_

And lifted it off the ground, threw it up in the air, jumped towards it, and slammed dunked it deep in its own element; the ground. The entire battlefield just seemed to _explode _from the impact as if a meteor hit it.

**"The Last of Riser's Pawns have retired."**

The remaining members were left stunned. They shook that shock however. They needed to defeat him _now_, more than ever. Riser's brunette Rook is the first to charge forward to get first attack. Unfortunately for the Rook, Ryu jumped a considerable distance away.

"Tch... You're a lot faster than you appear, Mamoru. I must commend you on that. Riser was not joking when he said you match him in most areas." The Rook couldn't help but praise the mute's combat expertise. She rose her masked eyebrow when the man placed his hand on one of the monuments, the Rook one.

Then her eyes widened as soon as she noticed him applying a grip on it.

**_Rumble rumble..._**

And _ripped _it off the _freaking ground!_

_**[Hmm... You seem to have a struggle lifting these objects, partner. Must be the energy that was used to create the artificial reality. But it also means more damage to them.] **_Ddraig chuckled when he finished speaking.

Ryu mentally agreed with his red colored partner on that as he slammed the large statue on the Rook, then swung it vertically like a baseball bat, effectively making a human home-run. Just to make sure she was out, Ryu threw it at her like a spear and crashed against one of the walls with her on the receiving end of that spear attack.

**"One of Riser's Rooks have retired."**

"Damn it!" The second and final Rook in Ryu's way rushed to said high school student. Ryu moved at high speeds, making the remaining Rook stop in her tracks.

_"I didn't even see him move!"_

She blushed upon feeling two, strong, burnt, and bloody arms snake around her stomach. Turning her head around, she is met with the bleeding face of Ryu.

"Wh-where do you think you're touching me!?"

Her voice betrayed her actions. Plainly obvious she showed no resistance to what he is doing.

She gasped in feeling those arms tighten around her waist and the blush left her cheeks. Finally realizing the trap she just fell for.

Though she found out too late.

_**Crack!**_

The sound of rock breaking made its way to the ears of others. The sound made from the woman being suplexed to the ground.

_**Crack crack!**_

Ryu kept suplexing the Chinese Rook without stop, then threw her up in the air midway to the next suplex and finished it off by leaping for her and grabbing her from the back whilst she was upside down, and pile drive'd her head deep into the ground.

**"The last of Riser's Rooks have retired."**

Ryu jumped away with grace to dodge an incoming explosion made by the Queen herself.

"You are indeed powerful and have great determination, young boy. You barely spare time for any of us to use any of our Phenex Tears." Complimented Yubelluna. Ryu deadpanned at her in a way of saying, "Did you really think I wouldn't know about any of you having Phenex Tears?" Yubelluna giggled at the expression. "You're intelligent too. Then again, you wouldn't have used the environment so well if you weren't to begin with."

Ryu really just wanted to get on to defeating the Queen to get to the King. So, he just calmly walks forward. Yubelluna smiled mischievously and fired off more explosions from her staff. Ryu did not pay any heed to the bombs and just tilts his head and torso from side to side, dodging the bombs. Yubelluna's smile did not falter and sent another bomb to Ryu's direction. The Boosted Gear wielder simply holds out his left hand that still had the Sacred Gear active and caught the bomb that exploded on contact. The dust settled to reveal nothing. No Ryu. No Boosted Gear.

"Hmm?" Yubelluna felt something tap her shoulder and turned to the source of the sensation.

But found nothing...

_"Strange... He must have used the dust to move discreetly..."_

**[TRANSFER!]**

Yubelluna turned around and saw Ryu standing a good distance away, Boosted Gear pointed in her direction.

Specifically, her shoulder.

Not that she noticed it was to her shoulder.

Then... He clicked his fingers.

_**Snap!**_

**[CRIMSON RAZE!]**

(End: Ire of the Dragon Protector)

_**BOOOOOOOMMMMM!**_

The entire field was consumed in a red explosion! Even Riser found himself needing to take it to the skies as soon as he saw him perform a Transfer.

**"Riser's Queen has retired."**

_"And here Riser thought he would not have to fight this man..."_

* * *

**_Ceremonial building..._**

Sirzechs and Grayfia found themselves sweating a few drops that fell from their brows, fear evident in their eyes to only those who could read a person's expressions well.

_"Th-that technique...!" _Sirzechs' eyes could not show any more disbelief when he heard and witnessed the technique Ryu has just displayed. It reminded him of the terrifying Red Dragon in the Great War.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

_A large plain surrounded by hills and mountains was covered in blood, bodies, and Angels, Fallen Angels, Devils, and other species that were fighting among each other. The other main attraction was the personal battle going on between a red, Welsh dragon and a white, western dragon. Both heights reaching a gargantuan 100 meters._

_"Do you think you can really defeat me, Ddraig?" Calmly asked the white dragon to its red counterpart. The red one had what seemed a confident grin._

_"I would think so, Albion. Otherwise, you would have not fallen to my trap! **CRIMSON RAZE!**"_

_Many of the supernatural fighting were consumed in a deadly explosion of red and others suffered heavy injuries, even if they were far away from the explosion. Srizechs himself witnessed the chaos and destruction with his own two eyes and swallowed his vision whole._

**_Flashback End_**

* * *

_"I thought it not possible for someone to learn the original Sekiryutei's personal abilities...!"_

* * *

**_Back to the match..._**

"Well done, Sekiryutei! You have proven to be more than a match for Riser's servants! But tell Riser, how do you plan to win when you are injured and have used much of your reserves?" Riser questioned with genuine curiosity as he lands back on the ground. Ryu's only response was to raise his gauntlet up high.

**[Partner...?]** Ddraig was actually curious in what Ryu's next move would be. That's when the dragon's eyes widened at the sudden spike of power in Ryu himself.

Ryu took a deep breath.

What came out of his mouth next terrified Riser and many others to the core. It sounded like the voices of children, adolescences, adults, and elders. Both male and female, sounding angry and sinister.

_**"Balance... Break..."**_

_**To Be Continued...**_

* * *

**Ending: Rolling Star by Yui**

**(Yume ni made mita you na sekai de arasoi no naku heiwa ni kurashitai) **Camera shows the streets and buildings of Kuoh City that had fast moving shadows of bestial and demonic looking creatures. Suddenly, a human shaped shadow carrying what seemed to be two swords, lunging at the other shadows and the camera panned to show it was actually Ryu jumping up high in the air and then slashed the screen with his swords.

**(****Mou gaman bakka shiterannai yo ****iitai koto wa iwanakucha****) **The screen split into three from the slashes and now shows Ryu jumping across rooftops with Asia on his back and Kuroka and Shirone following behind him, all of them smiling in joy.

**(****Kaerimichi yuugure no basutei ****ochikonda senaka ni Bye Bye Bye!)** The scenery switches to show Rias and Sona playing a game of chess against each other in the ORC Clubroom and their Peerages doing other miscellaneous things or watching their Kings play.

**(****Kimi no Fighting Pose misenai Oh! ****Oh!****)** The scene swapped again to show Ryu standing in the middle of the streets at nighttime, now in his serious personality. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he leapt towards the screen and punches it. This caused it to shatter to small shards of glass.

**(****Yume ni made mita you na sekai wa ****arasoi mo naku heiwa na nichi jyou!****) **Now it demonstrates Ryu blocking a punch from Dohnaseek and counters with a punch of his own to the face, knocking him away. Next, he ducks to avoid a kick from behind by Kalawarner and counters with an uppercut that sent her flying. Lastly, he launches a beam of bronze colored energy at Mittlet that destroyed the incoming light spears in the process.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa hibi to rabu te****tama ni kuyandari shiteru) **Swiftly turning around, Ryu charges towards Raynare, his gauntlet at the ready and jumps in the air to reach her with an open hand and she responds to throwing a light spear at him.

**(Sonna ROLLING DAYS!) **The entire screen went white right after.

**(Short Instrumental) **_A short series of flashbacks of all the times he fought against his foes that included Stray Devils, Freed, and the Fallen Angels play in his mind._

**(****Kitto uso nante sou imi wo motanai no) **Ryu falls to the floor, the bangs of his hair covers his eyes, and blood littered his torn up clothes and body.

**(All my loving… ****Sou janakya yatterannai!) **Two hands are offered in front of him and looks up to see Rias, Kiba, Akeno, and Asia and the hands belonging to Kuroka and Shirone.

**(Yume ni made mita you na Sweet Love ****koibitotachi wa kakure ga wo sagasu no) **Ryu gladly took the assistance and stood back up on his feet.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa aenai hi ga****tsuzuki nagara mo shinjiteru no Lonely days****) **Slowly raising his hand up, Ryu summons his Boosted Gear once more. The gem shines brightly and gives the white background made by the shining moon a more vibrant and beautiful color.

**(Tsumazuitatte Way to go! ****Yeah! Yeah!) **The group behind Ryu smiles at seeing him stand up and as he raised his armored hand up in the air.

**(Dorodarake ROLLING STAR!) **The screen soon becomes engulfed in a sea of green light by the gauntlet.

**End ending song**

* * *

**Random reader: Duuude! _69_ reviews!**

**... I'm not saying _anything _about it at this point.**

**I will say this though: Thanks for all that everyone has done for me. Even just making a few clicks and some typing, it really does let me know you readers like it. I do wish to apologize for the longer-than-a-week update. Long-story short: Stuff happened. I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. It was completely, fucking shitty. It expanded throughout the near two weeks and the end of the near two weeks topped it aaaaallll off with a motherfucking BANG. I won't bore you with the details, so... Yeah. Hope you're all having a great day and remember to expect an update next week or sooner!**

**Again, I apologize for the lack of content. I truly am sorry.**


	18. Dragon Protector vs Arrogant Phenex

**Reviews!**

**Ricc850: Thank you, thank you.**

**DragonicNative: Update! Fresh from PC!**

**listohain: Why thank you. As a humble gift, here's your chapter.**

**Blazedragon94: Heck yeah, you don't mess with a human.**

**Argorok: Enjoying my lemons, eh? Maybe it'll be in the next chapter...**

**the renegade soldier: Where the fuck were you, you magnificent bastard!? Moving on, I got the reference and stay away from Little Ryu!**

**Billy the Kid 730: You'll have to stick with the story to find out!**

**titanium8p: What I said to Billy. Heheheh...**

**AidosX: Welp... I'm just gonna go to a corner and sulk...**

**Tmax99: What can I say? I like my audience to anticipate what's coming next.**

**LazyNeko: What I said to Tmax99. Mwuahaha!**

**(First) Guest: His what? And you'll have to stick with the story to find out!**

**(Second) Guest: ... Wat?**

**As said before, I don't own Highschool DxD. Enjoy watching Ryu cooking Riser to a piece of chicken (not literally).**

"I refuse to give up!" – Speech  
_"I can't keep up…" – Thoughts/Flashbacks speech  
_**[Hang in there!]/[BOOST!] – Ddraig speech****  
****_[Through the thick and thin, partner!] – Ddraig thoughts/Flashback speech_**

* * *

**Opening: Sympathy by Larval Stage Planning**

**(Tomo ni mou ichido tachiagare ****mamore hitotsu no inochi…) **The camera shows Ryu landing on the ground and narrowing his eyes at the Peerage of Riser as they prepare themselves for combat. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he charges at them and the green gem begins to glow.

**(****Tayasanu yo niiii!)** The glow stopped and the upcoming clash is replaced with the picture of the Boosted Gear itself across the screen horizontally and the title appears in the middle.

"_**古**__**伝の竜**__**守**__**る **__**Vol 0: **__**不**__**羈**__**(Legend of the Dragon Protector, Vol 0: Freedom**__**)"**_

Then the gauntlet and title turn to shiny green particles.

**(****Futatabi otozureta yoake ni me ga samete kimi wo omoi dasu yume no tochuu) **The particles vanished to show the ORC Club and scrolls from left to right to show Rias to Kiba, Akeno, Asia, and finally to Shirone and Kuroka. All of them smiling towards the camera.

**(Me no mae no zanzo susumanai ashidori ****toozakatte yuku hiriki na boku)**Once more, the scenery switched to the Student Council Room and scrolled from right to left this time to show Sona, Tsubaki, Saji, Momo, Reya, Tsubasa, Rukuro, and Tomoe, all smiling at the camera as well.

**(Taisetsu na mono wa doko ni aru? ****Ashita wo shinjiru nara wasurenaide!)**The screen returned back to Ryu charging towards Riser's Peerage and the camera panned to the females and zooms past them and closes in on Riser's smirking face.

**(Ima koso saa inochi wo kakete susumi dasu toki****omoi ga tsuyoi hodo tsuyokunaru!)** Ryu dodges, parries, and counters the attacks of the servants in the Phenex's Peerage and heads straight for Riser after dealing with the females.

**(Hengen suru tsugihagi darake no risou dewa****sugu ni kiete shimau kara!) **Riser flies up in the air with his fire wings and Ryu follows suit with his energy being released through the sole of his feet and shoes and clash high in the sky with fist against fist, kicks against kick, and yellowish colored fires against copper colored lasers.

**(Towa e tsuzuku kawasu chikai****furue dashita karada no soko kara!) **Ryu slowly held up his Sacred Gear and the jewel shines once more with a light so intense that made Riser cover his eyes from its intensity. Red flames spread around Ryu's entire body and an armored silhouette slowly makes it appearance within the flames with emerald green eyes piercing through the red fire.

**End opening song**

* * *

_**Last time...**_

_"Well done, Sekiryutei! You have proven to be more than a match for Riser's servants! But tell Riser, how do you plan to win when you are injured and have used much of your reserves?" Riser questioned with genuine curiosity as he lands back on the ground. Ryu's only response was to raise his gauntlet up high._

_**[Partner...?]** Ddraig was actually curious in what Ryu's next move would be. That's when the dragon's eyes widened at the sudden spike of power in Ryu himself._

_Ryu took a deep breath._

_What came out of his mouth next terrified Riser and many others to the core. It sounded like the voices of children, adolescences, adults, and elders. Both male and female, sounding angry and sinister._

**_"Balance... Break..."_**

* * *

**_Now..._**

(Cue: Awakening of the Dragon Protector)

Ryu raises his left arm high above his head whilst taking and releasing heavy, steady breaths. Red fire went around in a circle with him in the middle. Riser and the ones watching could only witness this speculation occur right before their very eyes as Ryu's aura surrounded his body in a bright, red color. The jewels on the Boosted Gear seemed to glow intensely and it only kept getting brighter and brighter.

**_"Balance..."_**

The fire began to spiral around him and rising upwards throughout the field and Ryu's aura turned immediately turned a eerie red. Riser took a step back when he felt the energy and power behind the flames, the Sacred Gear, and Ryu himself.

_**"Break...!"**_

_**[WELSH DRAGON: BALANCE BREAKER!]**_

_**FWOOOM!  
**_

_**BOOOOMMM!**_

Riser had to fly again to avoid an explosion of fire and power that resonated from Ryu, grimacing when he felt a bit of fire graze his arm.

It left a burn. A nasty, bleeding burn.

And it wasn't healing.

_"WHAT!?"_

There were only a few weaknesses to actually harm or kill a Phenex.

Attacks that are minimally Sub-Level God Class, holy artifacts, and...

Flames stronger than the Phenex in question.

Before Riser could continue his questioning how Ryu could have such powerful flames, he faced said brunette once the flames and red energy died down.

And so did his voice and courage as soon as he saw Ryu's new appearance.

(It's Issei's Over-Booster/Balance Breaker, ladies and gentlemen. You can skip the description if you don't wish to see it.)

Red armor. Green eyes and jewels. Dragon motif. The main three things he could immediately tell.

To be more specific, Ryu now donned an armor. A red suit of armor that covered him in metallic dragon scales, the gauntlets now changed from its iconic Boosted Gear gauntlet and now had only one yellow spike that jutted out from the backside of the forearm, round shoulder guard with two, tiny spikes poking out of each side. The chest plate had a secondary piece of armor that covered the top half of his torso and slimmed down to the abdomen. His armor on his thighs had three, large, and red spikes poking out and the shin guards had three layers of armor with the second one having two red spikes jutting outwards and two, yellow spikes around his knees with the third layer just having a giant, protruding piece of red armor. His feet were now covered with boots that contained three dragon talons. On his back, Ryu's armor carried two, spiky jet-like booster. His helmet, held two, L-shaped yellow spikes above where his lips would be that acted like whiskers on a dragon with the helmet holding a dragon motif to it and the back of the head holding a tail-like whip to it that extended all the way to the floor. The two jewels were still there on his left arm and his right arm too. A big jewel on his chest with one small, red jewel next to each side of that jewel. Finally, one jewels on each of the knee caps in the armor.

And finally...

Two, frightening, and piercing emerald green eyes instead of his brown ones.

"What...? How...?" Riser could barely regain control over his words to speak to Ryu.

"How did you go from High Class to Ultimate Class just like that!? It should not be possible!"

Riser, in rage, held up his arms in the air to build up power, and released a ball of Phenex fire of giant proportions at the armored man. Riser smirked in victory when the ball made contact and exploded. However, the smirk was short-lived when the fire vanished and there was no Ryu standing or lying there. Immediately, his body tensed in fear when he felt something with a powerful energy signature behind him and turned around, only to be met with a fist that literally blew him across the entire field.

_**[I am surprised and proud of you, partner! Not many of your predecessors have managed to wield Balance Breaker without giving me a sacrifice in return! However, this will not last long. With your current state of condition and your first time performing Balance Breaker, you can only sustain it for 10 minutes. But! I believe it is more than enough to defeat this Phenex!] **_Ryu happily nodded at Ddraig's praise and readied to attack the bird-Devil.

**_[Now... Go forth and show him the power you have obtained!]_**

And with those words, Ryu instantly shot forwards to Riser's collision to fight him.

Riser, himself, was just getting out from the rubble, wincing at the burn that still remained.

_"Tch... Riser never expected this boy to have a trump card such as that... Where has Riser heard of 'Balance Breaker' befo- GAH!" _Riser's thoughts were short lived a knee to his stomach that propelled him to the air. Ryu used his enhanced speed to appear up in the air above Riser and punched him in the back. After that, he appeared in Riser's trajectory and roundhouse'd kicked him before vanishing in a burst of speed again. Next, he appeared, again, where Riser was being launched to, and backflip kicked him. Finally, Ryu appeared above Riser again and drove his fist deep into his gut as the two plummet towards the ground.

_**BOOOOMMM!**_

The area could only become decimated further from the impact of Riser's body via Ryu's added strength, forcing the blonde man to cough blood. Ryu stood up from the remains of the rubble, and began to tread away from the downed Phenex.

"Do-don't think you've w-won yet, human...!"

Ryu stopped to take a deep breath and shakes his head before turning around to face the man stagger up to his feet. Once Riser regained his bearings, the Devil lit his hands ablaze, wings of roaring flames of yellow, and took flight to combat his armored nemesis. Riser's face only got more and more terrifying with determination and anger the closer he was to attacking Ryu until Ryu himself vanished from Riser's sights. In a swift instant, Riser felt a painful force applied to his ribs and found himself hitting the other side of the field, again.

_"D-damn it... Arm... It hurts..."_

Riser couldn't get a grip on his surroundings from the hot, painful wound on his arm. He would usually have his Phenex regeneration patch up any wounds and messed up body parts. Nonetheless, a battle is going on and he must steel himself or Rias will be forever lost from his grip. With determination fueling his spirit and adrenaline pumping his body or whatever they call it for supernatural creatures, Riser stands up and fires a stream of Phenex fire at Ryu.

Ryu just charged the fire head-on and kept pushing forward like the fire did not even exist.

_**[I would warn you that the flames of a Phenex can still leave scratches on the scales of a dragon... But you are not weak. The flames will not even faze you. Truly, this is a great way to show your efforts and power, partner.] **_Ddraig couldn't help but smile in pride that his host could wield the power of the Boosted Gear with no problems.

Ryu took note of that, even if he figured that he could no longer be affected beforehand.

Riser could not believe it.

This mortal man was not affected by his signature flames.

He's even adding wind to intensify the fire.

Up to fueling both fire and air with more magic energy.

And it was not working!

_"THIS SHOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE!"_

The next thing Riser saw was a metallic and clawed hand reach out to grab him by the head, abruptly stopping the Phenex to cease his futile attack.

"AGH!"

Riser cried out in surprise and pain when he felt himself being tossed around like a live rag doll. Soon, the tossing around stopped, making Riser mentally sigh in relief.

Until he felt his stomach being punched by a scaled fist.

"UGH!"

Too bad for Riser, Ryu did not stop there. The armored individual laid down a barrage of punches to an almost invisible speed for anyone lower than Ryu's level to see. Riser could feel his regeneration trying to catch up with the damage the Longinus wielder kept dishing out.

Keyword: _Trying_

Ryu decides to end this little battle and began to release his power which takes the form of an aura around his armored body in the color of green.

**[EXPLOSION!]**

That aura turned red immediately after the "Explosion" was shouted out. The jewels on his armor shined brightly right as he punches Riser in the chest with a red, fiery fist. The force on that punch tore open the fancy shirt Riser wore and left a brutal burn on his chest that bled badly. Riser could only have his eyes shot open from the intense pain resonating in the chest and his voice could only make gasps of pain for his voice could no longer be accessible thanks to trauma.

(End: Awakening of the Dragon Protector)

**_Thud..._**

The sound of Riser's body, finally hitting the ground after so much punishment was dished on his body.

**[Reset.]**

* * *

_**Ceremonial building...**_

_Everyone _was left awestruck at the display of power demonstrated by Ryu himself.

"He achieved... Balance Breaker...?" Sirzechs could only mutter in surprise. He has witnessed an armor type Balance Breaker through one of the Thirteen Longinus Sacred Gears. Although, he must admit that the Boosted Gear is also impressive.

"He has not even performed one Boost in his Balance Breaker and the 'Explosion' was only used for show..." Spoke Grayfia. She too, is shocked from the power being radiated off of the high schooler. Riser is correct when he screamed out that Ryu's power jumped immediately to Ultimate Class.

"Ryu..." Rias would be lying if she didn't admit she was dreaming of Ryu carrying her in the dress she wears now while he still maintained the shining, red armor he has right now. She could _feel _the determination behind all that power that's pouring out of the very fibers of his being. The dream to finally be whisked away from all her problems. _"Just like in the manga and anime shows~" _Dreamt Rias.

"Ara ara~ Ryu is _a lot_ stronger than he appears~" Akeno cooed at Ryu's little performance in his Balance Breaker against Riser and she would be the one to admit that her "switch" has been... Flipped. But then again, it has been switched since Ryu started to beat Riser's Peerage one-by-one. One who has the will to protect others and have the power to do such a thing and then some... _"I really do wish I was in the same place in his heart like Shirone and Kuroka are~"_

"And that is why no one should mess with Ryu-senpai." Proudly stated Kiba. There is seriously no doubt in his mind that the victory is as good as Ryu's. He really wishes his senpai will continue training him to get stronger and maybe have his abilities as a Knight and Sacred Gear wielder grow to protect those he cares like his senpai has just shown to the entire audience of viewers that are watching this fight.

Shirone, Raynare, and Asia smiled in relief when they saw Riser finally fall down in defeat. At last, the battle was over. Everyone could enjoy life to its fullest again and no more worries like these will occur, hopefully.

That is, until they saw the Phenex take out a vial out of his pocket. Every adult noticed this just as Ryu began to walk away from Riser's defeated self.

The Gremory Clan ruler was the first to speak and question, "Lord Phenex... Is that what I think he's using? What does he plan to use it when Phenex Tears do not work on Phenex themselves?" The blonde, male ruler of the Phenex Clan scowled in closer inspection of the supposed Phenex Tear, "That is no Phenex Tear, Lord Gremory. That is a Tear of the _original _Phoenix! It's capable of healing and boosting the power of even its own descendants!"

This got everyone's attention.

The female ruler of the Phenex Clan made her voice known next, "What I would like to know is how my son managed to acquire one such as that! It's highly rare to obtain! Especially, when the original Phoenix, Suzaku, suddenly vanished millenniums ago!" She gently placed her thumb on the bottom of her chin in thought. "Did he take one from our personal vaults?" The father scowled even further. "Such disobedience! He knows to only use one when in times of great need such as near-death situations!"

* * *

**_Artificial battlefield..._**

(Cue: Endgame)

Ryu stopped walking and turned around in time to see Riser swallow some type of liquid in a small vial.

_**[To think a Phenex- no, a Devil would use such an item **_**just _to save face and try to win this pointless battle with it.] _**Sighing, Ddraig attempted to explain this in a more easier-to-understand fashion for his confused host. **_[That vial...]_**

**_Fwoom..._**

**_[Holds a tear from the "Red Phoenix." Also known as the "Original Phoenix"...]_**

**_BOOMM!_**

**_[Or the "Vermilion Bird of the South" from the Four Guardian Spirits of China.]_**

Ryu passively ignored the power boost in Riser's core and healed wounds. Honestly, the mute was expecting the man to have some trick up his sleeve the entire time. Still, this meant he needed to end this quickly. Riser has temporarily reached Ultimate Class, just like himself, and his Balance Breaker only has 6 minutes remaining.

Time is of the essence.

Literally.

"Did you truly believe you could defeat Riser, human!?" Riser made his wings of orange fire expand to show his "superiority." Ryu just remained still the entire time. If talking is all what Riser will do, then he will need to strike first.

"I commend your prowess, mortal. If Riser have not carried this... Phoenix Tears, he would surely lose this battle. However... Riser happened to carry this. Just. In. Case." Riser's triumphant and condescending smirk returned to its full potential as he began to float up in the air. "Riser's afraid that your little victory will have to be taken from you by Riser's two hands... 'Dragon Protector.'" The Phenex Devil chose to use the English translation of Ryu's full name and charged forward to battle his even match. Ryu responded to this by activating his jet boosters on his back and takes flight, choosing to take the battle to the air.

"Tch! Sneaky one, aren't you!?" Riser clicked his tongue in annoyance upon noticing Ryu dodge his fiery fist by flying up. Riser himself followed suit and flew up in the air to catch up with him. Ryu sees that the altitude seemed adequate and stopped elevating in altitude with Riser following that action shortly. Riser charged forward with a straight punch, Ryu just ducked under it and kicked his stomach from below with enough force to make Riser dry heave. It was fairly simple to predict and counter his attacks.

_**[How sad... Instead of making this battle any harder, he is making it easier by playing the arrogant card...]**_

Ryu preferred it that way. He's the type to finish fights as quickly as possible and in his current situation, he has 5 minutes to do so after all. Riser, of course, sneered in anger, and attempts another strike by launching large spheres of compressed fire. Ryu narrowed his emerald green eyes and takes off in another direction to dodge the spheres.

"HAHAHAHA! As if it's that simple!" Gloated Riser.

Lo and behold, the spheres were tailing behind Ryu like heat-seeking missiles.

**[TRANSFER!]**

Ryu simply Transfers some of his energy to another monument, picked it up with more ease this time, and swung it at the flaming spheres, causing all to explode prematurely and leaving the baseball bat statue somewhat intact. So using that same giant piece of stone, Ryu flung it at Riser who punched it to a stop and sliced it to bits using his wind magic.

"Hahaha! Do you think some piece of rock can- GAH!?" Poor Riser could never finish that statement after getting punched in the stomach and punched again in the face right before Ryu starts performing a speedy, kick and punch combo with a drop kick finisher to the ground.

"Ugh..." Riser moved the rubble out of the way.

"Why...?"

Ryu impassively stared down on Riser as he gently lands back on destroyed ground.

"Why do you interfere with the business of us Devils? Are you not an ally to our kind? What do you gain out of this entire fight!?" Riser's voice kept getting louder and louder the more questions he piled on Ryu, almost as if he forgot he could not speak to begin with.

**[Riser Phenex. While you may be powerful and an experienced fighter, you do not have the plethora of skills and abilities my partner contains. You do not share his ability to adapt to every situation thrown at you in an instant like he can as a human. Most importantly... You don't have the drive and determination my host has. He is doing this out of several goals he has set himself. Everyone has them Riser and in this world, beings use other beings for stepping stones to make a name of themselves. In my wielder's case, it's you.] **Ddraig spoke in a gentle, indifferent tone. He didn't need to hide the facts. This man metaphorically in front of him might be powerful, but all he knows is to throw fire or enhance his fists with fire. His reasoning for fighting is literally for breeding purposes and he is not human.

"How dare he! To ruin a wedding between two Devils just to make a name for yourself!? That's nothing less than shameful!" Riser's wings burst back to life, growing in size in correspondence to his anger. Ryu's only reaction is the shine on the jewels and emerald eyes becoming duller as to show he is not feeling threatened.

**[It is also to free Rias Gremory. You, her clan, and your own clan, have forced it upon her, taken away her freedom. As my partner's alias as "Dragon Protector," he will free those he considers comrades and friends and those whom cannot fight for themselves. That is the main reason why we are doing this: For the freedom of Rias Gremory and her Peerage as well. For if you imprison the Heiress, you imprison the rest of her surrogate family. The rest is just convenience.] **Ddraig still spoke in a tone that says truth and nothing but truth. It is true after all, almost everyone involved in the creation of this wedding went against Rias' free will.

Riser was left momentarily stunned by all of this. However, that surprise turned to anger and further more than that as his wings and aura began to radiate.

"YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND ANYTHING, HUMAN!"

Riser left no room for hesitation and races towards Ryu for another attempt to end him.

"Sigh..." Ryu could only sigh in disappointment. Two minutes only remained in his Balance Breaker state. Unfortunately for Riser, he needed to finish this fight **now**. He really did not want to for the safety of himself, but he will need to use the Balance Breaker's ability of...

**[BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOOST!]**

Using the ability to call forth countless Boosts to his aid. The jewels began to shine their brightest once more, his eyes becoming highly intimidating, armor glowing ominously, green aura around him radiating more and more. As he continues to Boost, blood started to seep out of his armor, signifying his body is suffering too much from the backlash in overusing the Boosted Gear in his weakened state and only have activated Balance Breaker the first time ever.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Riser showed no signs of caring in the fact Ryu kept Boosting his power just a bit longer and launched a powerful punch on him.

_**Clink!**_

Only for the attack to be caught by Ryu's hand and that action showed no signs of any struggle in stopping and holding the powerful attack. Riser had his eyes shot wide open in renewed fear.

**[This, Phenex, is the difference between acquired power one had to work for against power bestowed upon one such as yourself at birth. In this cruel world, there will be someone who is stronger than you. No matter who or what that someone is.] **Ddraig solemnly spoke. Ryu's eyes glowed a bit brighter as he frees Riser's hand and vanishes, leaving only a trail of green, light particles.

"AAAGH!"

The only thing that Riser could see is green, human-sized rays of light passing by and attacking him in multiple directions. He could only assume it was Ryu going at speed higher than he could follow and to end the hyper speed assault, Ryu ended it with a powerful punch to the cheekbone and sure-shots Riser to another monument to which he crashes in.

30 seconds remained in the Balance Breaker and the guy is _still _getting up after the beating Ryu gave him. At this point, Ryu could no longer hold back his mental and physical fatigue of abusing the Balance Breaker, Boosts, and the injuries that did not help his stamina to keep up with the power in the slightest.

"Hah... Hah... You think... Hah... You WON!? You fool! Kuh...! I'm a Phenex! I'm immortal like my ancestor!" To prove his point, Riser stood up from the rubble and lit his arms on fire to show he still had juice left in him.

**[10!]**

That's it, Ryu had to end this _**now**_.

**[BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOST BOOOST!]**

**[9!]**

Riser's face turned into pure, unadulterated fear when he heard, felt, and saw his opponent's power increase even further. What terrified him the most was the blood pouring out of the armor yet the user did not care one bit.

**[8!]**

The next thing Ryu did surprised and-or scared every single person that watched this fight.

**[EXPLOSION!]**

**_KKKRRSSSSHHH!_**

The artificially created battlefield completely **_shattered _**as Ryu's power added with his Boosts, **_doubled _**the very instant he used "Explosion." Riser's fear began to overtake his arrogance and pride as he instinctively made himself float in the now open sky of the Underworld as the armored _monster _in front of him carried a red, powerful, and downright petrifying aura around him, holding him in place. Ryu did the same with his boosters in order to stay in the air.

**[7!]**

Ryu charged right at Riser with god-like speed and leaving only a small ray of red colored trail of light in his place.

**[6!]**

_**BOOOOMMMM!**_

Ryu and Riser crashed into the ceremonial building, shocking the viewers even further and scaring others as well.

**[5!]**

Ryu grabbed Riser by the shirt and started to maliciously beat up on him.

**[4!]**

Ryu then proceeded to throw Riser across the ballroom, ironically making him land right on the same spot the Phenex stood before the fight.

**[3!]**

Ryu held up his left hand and started to gather all the power available to him that took the shape of a red sphere and it only continued to grow until it was his height.

**[2!]**

The ball is then compressed to the size of a golf ball and prepares to launch it directly at Riser.

(End: Endgame)

**[1!]**

**"... Endgame, Riser..."**

**[DRAGON SHOT!]**

_**"PLEASE STOP! GIVE HIM ANOTHER CHANCE!"**_

**[TIME OVER!]**

Ryu's armor dissipated into red particles just as he launched a red, human sized laser that shot up to the skies, piercing though a wall of the building that was in its way.

And once it reached pass the colorful atmosphere of the Underworld...

A silent, muffled boom made itself known.

The entire color of the scenery turned pure red.

The laser blew up and grew into a red, spherical-shaped explosion.

A strong shockwave resonated from the red sphere of destruction and expanded throughout for all to be felt.

Everyone could only peer at the sheer size of its radius. It was clear that it passed the very skies themselves, to nonexistent space, but they still could not see the end of the sphere.

After a few more seconds, the explosion dispersed to red particles that also vanished.

Sirzechs could only mutter the obvious of what everyone felt and saw.

"That power... Was definitely God Class..."

The next he thought to himself.

_"The size was a third of this continent we're in..."_

Fortunately, the sphere did not touch anything or it would have wiped out said third portion of the piece of land they resided in. And then some. A lot of some, in fact.

"ONII-SAN!"

Ravel got over her own shock and ran up to hug a trembling Riser.

"You're okay... You're okay... Thank the Maous..."

Ravel cried tears of joy that mercy was bestowed upon her brother. The attack would have no doubt kill him if it made so much as even a graze.

Ryu, himself, could barely manage to stand on his two legs. The child is now a panting, bleeding mess. Blood flowed freely from various tears on his skin and muscles almost everywhere on his body and is taking long, ragged, and unstable breaths.

"Ryu-kun!"/"Ryu-senpai!"/"Ryu-sama!"

Shirone, Asia, and Raynare rushed to help the victor of the battle. Raynare took his right arm and Shirone took his left arm, both gently placing the arms over their shoulders to help support him. Asia herself is now using her Twilight Healing to help Ryu's injuries. Of course, the healing process was not fast as it should have been and would take a few days to possibly a week of nonstop healing to even turn the wounds to scratches since the wounds are the result of too much power.

Grayfia regained her composure and steps forward to the center of the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen."

Everyone finally snapped out of their trance-like state. Even Riser got out of his fear and craned his neck to look at Grayfia.

"Both combatants have proven to have sheer power, dedication, and strategic combat as we have all witnessed first hand. This match..."

The audience grew more and more curious as to who won the match.

Sirzechs finally stepped up to stand next to his maid slash wife slash Queen.

"Goes to the 'Dragon Protector.'"

Rias, Akeno, and Kiba cheered for their fellow schoolmate in his victory and approached their injured savior.

"You did an amazing job, senpai!"

"Ara ara~ Our classmate is soooo powerful~"

"Ryu... Thank you."

The people were going wild about how intense the fight was and the unexpected turn of events.

Truly, the first human to actually prove that the Thirteen Sacred Gears do live up to their expectations as "Longinus."

"Before this goes any further... I wish to congratulate you on your victory and in sparing Riser Phenex of death."

The cheering died down once the voice in question reached their ears and fixed their attention to Sirzechs. Ryu removed his arms from their shoulders and walked forward with just a tad difficulty, ignoring the worried looks he's receiving. He wills the Boosted Gear to vanish in green particles and held that same hand out, which he cleaned of blood. Sirzechs smiled kindly at the gesture and shook his hand, pure happiness and sincerity in that smile and shake.

**[We thank you for giving us the opportunity to free a friend of my host.]**

"It is of no problem. I do hope that will make a name out of yourself. I did broadcast this fight to all of the Devil Faction's territory as you asked. Good thing too, I didn't want to explain why a giant, red ball of doom looming over us. It will most definitely spread throughout the land and perhaps other factions such as the Fallen Angels will see it just as you hope. It is still a risk to just show yourself in such a manner. People will hunt you for power or to join them, most likely. I am still broadcasting it as we still speak."

**[That is exactly why we wish to have this spread for the supernatural to know. To know there is someone representing humans. Humans whom cannot fight for themselves and wishes to bring free will to all, be it normal human or supernatural being. We both wish to make allies and other forces and bring them together to help us.]**

Sirzechs nodded in approval. "And what is your second wish that you desired?"

**[... To rid the female Nekoshou known as, "Kuroka Toujou," off your Wanted List. Or to prove that she is innocent.]**

Several gasps reverberated all over the ballroom. Grayfia just gave a small, faint smile. Same as Shirone. Sirzechs, however, frowned.

"I am not able to so easily remove her from our criminal records. Plus, the scene has already been investigated."

**[Are you sure these "detectives" were not biased? Also, in the book about your laws, more specifically, the Laws of Peerage, states that a King must treat his or her servants well to promote a healthy relationship and to lower the chance of betrayal. This clearly says that if the King is to be abusive, to becoming absolutely life-threatening, the servant is free to act on self-defense. This law was made by the very same Devil that created your Peerage System.]**

Sirzechs' expression looked like he is _actually _taking that to thought.

"Very well. I'll do this myself. Shirone Toujou." Shirone straightened herself up when her name was called.

"Do you wish for your sister to be no longer a criminal in Devil territory?"

"Y-yes, Lord Sirzechs." Poor Shirone did not know how to directly respond to the King of Devils. Sirzechs smiles at the girl and beckons her to come to him to which she does so quickly.

"I am going to look into your memories. Is that alright?"

"But... The others that did that... I mean... Yes." Shirone nodded confidently. Sirzechs frowned again. It seemed that the Red Dragon is correct on his statement. His investigators were truly biased. Not a good sign of trust to his powerful ally. Nevertheless, he places a hand on Shirone's head and begins to only search for the incident that happened approximately 5 years ago.

"..."

The guests stared in anticipation.

"... I can safely say... Kuroka Toujou's act of violence is complete self-defense. The King has performed gruesome and painful experiments on her. The screams and blood that I see and hear are evidence. He was about to perform them on Shirone herself, but her sister killed the King and the rest that tried to stop them, fully aware what the King was doing. As much as it pains me to lose powerful and loyal citizens, they brought it upon themselves. Kuroka Toujou and Shirone Toujou were framed. If that is the case, I hereby dictate that all charges of Kuroka Toujou are to be dropped."

Fortunately, the ones in disagreement are intelligent enough to not question their King's orders and stick with scowling instead. Ryu knew they carried these nasty looks without looking. He didn't care though. He's too happy to care.

But there's one last thing he needed to do.

Ryu walks past Sirzechs and Grayfia, who he smiles at, a smile that she returns in kind. Ravel sees him coming this way. She holds herself back from shielding her precious yet perverted brother. If he wanted to kill Riser, he would have done so back with the laser thing he fired. Riser mustered the courage to look up and stare at the face of the man who beat him. The main question he asked himself is if the victor in front of him was going to gloat about his victory.

But no.

Instead...

He reached his hand out to help him stand.

Riser blinked at such an act of generosity. Still, he accepted. The two peered into each other's eyes.

After a moment of staring into each other's eyes, Riser coughed in his hand.

"An excellent fight. You've proven yourself more than worthy to be an ally. The stories about the power in a Longinus Sacred Gear seem to be true." Was all Riser could say.

Ryu made a motion that could be counted as chuckling before taking out his notepad that's a bit burnt. Still useful though.

"Your sister reminded me something that my mother told me when I was young: 'Always give a person a second chance if their actions can still be righted.' I never did plan on killing you. I just wanted to make a point across."

Ravel and Riser blinked at the man's writing. Ryu wrote what needed to write and waves farewell to them. As he walks away, he passes by Riser's Peerage who stare at the retreating form. Ryu is internally glad he didn't hurt them too much and have healed quickly. Using the little remaining there is left in his magic reserves, Ryu summons a transportation circle below his feet. Shirone, Raynare, and Asia readily step inside to join him on the ride back home, all of them clearly smiling. Ddraig wanted to say one last thing before they left though...

**[Enjoy what remains of the party, Gremory. Oh, and Sirzechs.]**

"Hmm? What is it?" Wondered the King of Devils.

**[Riser threatened to kill your kin's servants and drag her back in the Underworld himself.] **The last thing that could be seen is Ryu facepalming and Raynare and Shirone paling. Asia just stood oblivious as to why Ddraig mentioned this. Ddraig's chuckle echoed in everyone's ears as the magic circle did its work by transporting Ryu and the others back to the human world.

**"Riser Phenex..."**

_**Gulp!**_

Ahh, time to pay respects for the sad sod that is Riser Phenex. Grayfia sighed, but smiled that everything worked out well in the end, thoughts wandering their way back to the supposedly normal human, Ryu Mamoru.

_"Perhaps he will bring change into the supernatural..."_

* * *

**Ending: Rolling Star by Yui**

**(Yume ni made mita you na sekai de arasoi no naku heiwa ni kurashitai) **Camera shows the streets and buildings of Kuoh City that had fast moving shadows of bestial and demonic looking creatures. Suddenly, a human shaped shadow carrying what seemed to be two swords, lunging at the other shadows and the camera panned to show it was actually Ryu jumping up high in the air and then slashed the screen with his swords.

**(****Mou gaman bakka shiterannai yo ****iitai koto wa iwanakucha****) **The screen split into three from the slashes and now shows Ryu jumping across rooftops with Asia on his back and Kuroka and Shirone following behind him, all of them smiling in joy.

**(****Kaerimichi yuugure no basutei ****ochikonda senaka ni Bye Bye Bye!)** The scenery switches to show Rias and Sona playing a game of chess against each other in the ORC Clubroom and their Peerages doing other miscellaneous things or watching their Kings play.

**(****Kimi no Fighting Pose misenai Oh! ****Oh!****)** The scene swapped again to show Ryu standing in the middle of the streets at nighttime, now in his serious personality. Summoning his Boosted Gear, he leapt towards the screen and punches it. This caused it to shatter to small shards of glass.

**(****Yume ni made mita you na sekai wa ****arasoi mo naku heiwa na nichijyou!****) **Now it demonstrates Ryu blocking a punch from Dohnaseek and counters with a punch of his own to the face, knocking him away. Next, he ducks to avoid a kick from behind by Kalawarner and counters with an uppercut that sent her flying. Lastly, he launches a beam of bronze colored energy at Mittlet that destroyed the incoming light spears in the process.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa hibi to rabu te****tama ni kuyandari shiteru) **Swiftly turning around, Ryu charges towards Raynare, his gauntlet at the ready and jumps in the air to reach her with an open hand and she responds to throwing a light spear at him.

**(Sonna ROLLING DAYS!) **The entire screen went white right after.

**(Short Instrumental) **_A short series of flashbacks of all the times he fought against his foes that included Stray Devils, Freed, and the Fallen Angels play in his mind._

**(****Kitto uso nante sou imi wo motanai no) **Ryu falls to the floor, the bangs of his hair covers his eyes, and blood littered his torn up clothes and body.

**(All my loving… ****Sou janakya yatterannai!) **Two hands are offered in front of him and looks up to see Rias, Kiba, Akeno, and Asia and the hands belonging to Kuroka and Shirone.

**(Yume ni made mita you na Sweet Love ****koibitotachi wa kakure ga wo sagasu no)**Ryu gladly took the assistance and stood back up on his feet.

**(****Demo genjitsu wa aenai hi ga****tsuzuki nagara mo shinjiteru no Lonely days****) **Slowly raising his hand up, Ryu summons his Boosted Gear once more. The gem shines brightly and gives the white background made by the shining moon a more vibrant and beautiful color.

**(Tsumazuitatte Way to go! ****Yeah! Yeah!) **The group behind Ryu smiles at seeing him stand up and as he raised his armored hand up in the air.

**(Dorodarake ROLLING STAR!) **The screen soon becomes engulfed in a sea of green light by the gauntlet.

**End ending song**

* * *

**So... Yeah, this is the final chapter of this entire prototype story. Other than the epilogue that's coming up, it's the final one. Oh yeah, one final thing...**

**When I mean "prototype," I mean this won't be canon to my future volumes of my newly named, "Koden no Ryu Mamoru."**

**Reader: WTF!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN!?**

**I mean literally what I said. This story has some parts of canon to the story of Ryu I will work on, but most of it is just... Not what really happened. This "Volume 0" was entirely made to assess my writing skills and what I can do to make it better.**

**And let me just say that I have a shit ton I can do to improve. I just haven't applied these improvements to this story cuz I want to do that in the REAL volumes where the real stuff begins.**

**I'll be making an actual origins story about Ryu's past like his childhood; how he grew up, what kind of places he went to that do actually connect to the events I'll be creating.**

**Seriously, if you think this story is good...**

**You're going to get _mindblown_ in the future volumes.**

**If you don't like this, then you'll probably like the future volumes since they'll be better. Or not.**

**ANYWAYS! Hope you all have a great day and look forward to the final chapter of this story (FINALLY)!**


	19. Freedom's Epilogue

**Ladies and gentlemen, here it is. The epilogue that officially ends this little "rough draft" that one particular reviewer said. ****Heheh... Not wrong there, to be honest. It makes sense to consider it that way when I think about it.**

**I'll leave the thank you's and whatnot 'til the end of this chapter. I'll just hit the reviews right away as per ush (is that how I say it?).**

**Ricc850: Pfft, yeah, no shit he got one-upped. Thanks, by the way.**

**Blazedragon94: You won't be waiting long if I'm to be truthful. I wasn't joking when I said I have everything planned out somewhere in previous AN's.**

**Billy the Kid 730: Give the two OST picked out for the fight a try and thanks.**

**Piemaster91: Thanks and you'll probably be making that reference a lot in future volumes.**

**Mylobens: I'm gonna keep writing, don't you worry.**

**AidosX: Oh yeah, good friendship indeed. Like the times you raged over my cliffhangers or threatened me two chapter ago. Ah, yes, good times...**

**(First) Guest: What I said to Mylobens.**

**(Second) Guest: I. Have. No. Idea. Why. I'm. Laughing. So. Much. It must be from seeing "so much yes" every time.**

**And now, I present to you, my most ballsy review response ever in my story... Yet.**

_**Fair warning: I'm not trying to come off as actually mean or anything of the sorts. Just trying to be funny.**_

**the renegade soldier: You're a needy little shit-head, aren't you? You're more of a virgin than I am in terms of lemons.**

**SINCE YOU HAVEN'T EVEN MADE ONE!**

**OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!**

**...**

**Sigh... Just go on and read this to see if it's there or not.**

**I do not own Highschool DxD. Enjoy the epilogue.**

* * *

_**Morning, Mamoru Residence: Ryu**_

Our mute protagonist shuffled about in his bed a bit as the rays of the sun graced him with its Vitamin D, now fully awake.

No, there was no pun to that.

No.

Bad.

Stop it.

Stop with that way of thinking.

Still...

Ryu couldn't believe it.

It's been a week.

A week since his victory over an entire Peerage and a powered-up Phenex.

Now, the fight itself may not be impressive to some, but it was how Ryu ended the fight that it earned him the title, "Phoenix Slayer" or "Phenex Slayer" for actually gaining the power to _kill _someone of Phoenix decent. "Kill" as in, not even letting ashes remain for the descendant to spawn back.

Or the fact that he created the new "Power Scale System" to gauge one's power.

He had Sirzechs and a few others to thank in helping him for that.

But to him, all of those were worthless compared to his own, personal accomplishment.

Giving two sisters the freedom of being together at last.

Yes, Ryu did it. He finally did it. Kuroka and Shirone can finally be together, no matter what. On the big plus side, he's freed Rias, Akeno, Kiba, Shirone herself, and even Raynare and Asia from the lecherous grip of Riser.

Well... Kiba wouldn't really be affected unless there was some people in the Phenex's Peerage that had their eyes set on him.

But that's no longer a concern.

**[Good morning, partner.]**

Ryu smiled at the usual morning greeting he got from his friend. It felt nice for Ryu to wake up and hear someone as close as Ddraig say "good morning" to him. Ryu got up from his bed and changed to his normal outfit save for his cowboy hat.

Why did his hat have to be destroyed...?

WHY!?

Ahem... Anyways... Back to the morning greetings.

He didn't have that back when he was alone and no longer had Kuroka nor Shirone with him. Ddraig was still trying to contact the kid at the time too. Then again...

_**Knock knock knock!**_

"Ryu! Raynare told me to come up and tell you that breakfast will be finished shortly!"

**[We appreciate that, Asia. Partner will arrive downstairs soon.]**

"Okay!" The sound of footsteps got quieter and quieter as the now revealed Asia went downstairs.

Yup. He now has people living with him.

Yep, "people" and "living" in the same sentence. Crazy, right? After all those torturous years of solitude, Ryu finally got himself friends to be with.

Well... Raynare's more of a... Er... Future harem member?

It's still strange to him of making a "harem." It really is. Even the word is foreign for his mind. He doesn't know why Kuroka and Shirone made such an idea in the first place.

That's when Ryu's mind finally drifted somewhere else.

Where was Kuroka? The last time he's seen her was the night they had their... Pleasurable moment, one could say. He is sure the news of one of the most infamous and notorious criminals in the Devil Faction being proven innocent would have reached her by now. He's been keeping track with Shirone and even the white Neko says that she has not shown up.

**[You are thinking about her, aren't you?] **Ddraig is highly experienced in sensing distress or any emotion of his partner. He's linked to his host's very soul, after all.

"Sigh..."

Ryu opted with a somber sigh and a hung head.

**[I am sure she will come to greet you sometime in the future, partner. She has someone training her and that could restrict her time to see you.] **Reasoned the large, red dragon. Ryu nodded his head after giving it some thought. It made sense. She did say she has a "sensei" on the letter she left.

**[But enough of that. How are your injuries?] **Inquired Ddraig.

Ah, right. The injuries caused by going ballistic with the Boosted Gear. They were healed in half of a week thanks to Asia's Twilight Healing and Shirone's Senjutsu skills. Shirone may only have basic control and skills over it, but it was still useful. Ddraig just wanted to make sure Ryu is still fine. So with a nod from Ryu to conform his health, Ddraig smiled that his partner is alright.

**[Good. Then let us go downstairs so you can eat. It is still strange to me how you humans require to eat while every other supernatural race doesn't. Except Devils. They represent the Seven Deadly Sins and gluttony is one of them. Or Fallen Angels that fell because of gluttony. But they still don't need to eat...] **Ddraig just mumbled off into other topics of discussion. Ryu silently chuckled at this constant behavior of his dragon friend. Whenever things are not... Hyped up, let's say, Ddraig would try and strike a conversation and tries to keep it a decent pace. But that usually ends up in a tangent...

**[Do you know that the planets in the Solar System are actually creations of the Sub-Level Gods like Jupiter? Except the Sun, it was created by multiple Elder Gods...]** Yup, there it is.

Don't be mistaken, Ddraig is not a social train-wreck or has lost proper conversation skills throughout his time in the Sacred Gear. It was just him trying to teach Ryu as much as he could about the supernatural. Try and feed the curiosity Ryu has for everything he sees, hears, and pretty much whatever else and honestly, Ryu is really grateful towards Ddraig for that. As far as he knew, Ryu does not actually need an educational book to learn. He has Ddraig for that. But it doesn't hurt to learn in reading and writing on his own way and pace. Listening is already something he's good at. Naturally.

That said, Ryu treads downstairs to get his breakfast.

"Good morning, Ryu-sama~!" Greeted a cheerful and giddy Raynare. The Fallen Angel wore a gray tank top, blue boxers, and a pinkish-white apron. Yup, that was Ryu's tank top and boxers. Of course, being the guy he is, gave them to her when she tried to be oh so sneaky and take them. That got him a glomp from the girl and told how adorable he is.

"Good morning, Ryu-san~" Greeted a somewhat sleepy Asia that's watching television. She wore her nun outfit since she was going to work out in the newly refurbished and built church near Ryu's neighborhood.

That's right: Ryu made a church for Asia to pray and share her beliefs in God. It's been quite successful, especially from the lack of a church after the last one was out.

"Growl~" Yeah, even Rairyu is there, sitting next to Asia, and giving him a good morning whilst raising his paw up to wave it with what seemed like a smile.

"You should really fix your hair, Ryu-sama! It's always so messy-looking. It's not proper to have unruly hair like yours. Even Azazel-sama has it straight and clean and still looks like it's messy." Scolded Raynare. She liked the hair herself though it just looked really messed up. Ryu just deadpanned and took out his notepad.

"My hair, not yours. Plus, it shows that I'm a free man."

Raynare sighed but smiled at him nonetheless. A part that she found attractive in Ryu and that is his carefree attitude.

"Food is ready! I made waffles!" She held her laughter with giggles as soon as she turned around and saw the three of them sitting at the table with anticipated looks.

Of course, the breakfast just passed along through idle chit-chat. Eventually...

"I'll see you later, Ryu-san and Raynare-san!"

Asia had to leave to go to attend at the church. Ryu idly wondered when the church would be turned in a training ground for exorcists. It's not exactly the best of thoughts considering Devils live in this city too. Then again, Ryu only made the church for mundane purposes, not for supernatural reasons. It is the main reason he got Rias and Sona to agree in this. With that out of the way, Rias finally could breathe normally at feeling that she at least repaid Asia for the mistake she did of not stopping the Fallen Angels.

Either way, he'd know if something was up and he'll be there to stop it if these exorcists were to go after Rias, Sona, and their Peerage members. Not to mention Raynare too.

_**Riiiing~**_

A sound of a phone ringing disrupted the mute's thoughts and eating, turning his attention to Raynare who gave an apologetic look before taking her phone out.

"Moshi moshi~?"

Ryu fell off the chair and rolled on the floor right then and there with his face turning red from how hard he was laughing. Good thing he finished drinking his milk and ate his waffles or else they would have probably would have fell. Not that it mattered, Rairyu would have probably have eaten-slash-drank it from the ground.

**[How does that always make you laugh?] **Ddraig offered a small laugh to accompany Ryu's parade of laughter. He couldn't help it when it was funny seeing how much Ryu laughed from hearing someone say "moshi moshi." Maybe that was just some of the things that got to his funny bone.

Raynare stifled her laughter in slight giggles while still listening to the other person on the phone.

"Mhm. Yes, I can. When? Alright, I'll be there."

Hanging up the phone, Raynare manifested a pinkish (maybe magenta?) magic circle and used it to change her clothes back to the fake school uniform. It was actually her own uniform back at the Fallen Angel Faction, believe it or not. Like Dohnaseek wearing a trench coat, boots, dress pants, and all that jazz.

Oh yeah, the fedora too.

You can never go wrong with a fedora.

"Ryu-sama, I will need to leave and return to Azazel-sama. He told me it was urgent too, so..." Raynare trailed off in a nervous fashion. Ryu sensed the nervousness immediately and stood up with that same happy-go-lucky smile he always has when not in conflict. Raynare got the message and smiled back. "Thank you. It won't be long. It's just a little reunion with my former teammates." Ryu nodded in understanding as he did recall meeting her group _properly _before. She was kind enough to have a small, quick meeting to introduce Ryu to her comrades after the "Phenex Battle." It got him different reactions, of course.

Mittlet had a sour look on her face the first few moments until becoming apologetic and then to one that is used by someone who is meeting the person they look up to. She right then and there began to adore Ryu after hearing him forgive Raynare so easily and not make her some type of servant and went as far as to save her from the clutches of Riser. Even if Ryu was well within the rights to not forgive her and the black haired Fallen Angel made the decision to be a prize in the first place.

Dohnaseek didn't look surprised that Ryu won considering he had a weapon that can take down gods. If one has a weapon with enough power to actually kill gods, one has the power to kill Phenex's.

Oh yeah, he also fought him. He lost, but it was a fun fight for him.

Kalawarner attempting to flirt with him, only to be straight up turned down.

What? Thinking all because Ryu has mental problems and a mute that he doesn't know how to react to feelings and "forward" movements?

Ohhh boy, if only one witnessed the stuff he went through back in his middle school year and orphanage.

"I'll be seeing you in a few hours, okay? Bye~!" And on that little note, Raynare used her magic circle to transport herself to the Fallen Angel side of the Underworld, leaving Ryu and Rairyu to their own devices. Speaking of Rairyu, Ryu remembered something and took out a golden apple out of his pocket dimension via magic circle which was changed to just a bronze colored magic circle with no blurry thingies whatsoever and contained a picture of a dragon's head sideways.

Oh yeah, the apple.

It was known as a "Dragon Apple." Something that all living dragons required in order to remain alive. Another thing that confused Ryu to no ends of the world. Ddraig simply avoided the question when he was first asked by telling him it is just how it is. Even Rairyu seemed to know why his race needed Dragon Apples, but he didn't say anything and played ignorant.

It peeved him a bit because he wanted to see what he could do to help.

Oh well.

Anyways, Ryu has a stock of them in his pocket dimension and has more stashed away in the house. He made some connections like Sirzechs and Zatouji to send him some Dragon Apples for Rairyu. He would try some himself, but has heard they're not exactly the most common thing, so he only lets Rairyu eat them.

"I'm going to head back upstairs to my room. Do you want to join me in some games?" Rairyu shook his head after reading the note Ryu wrote just now and pointed to the television. The brunette got the message and silently chuckled a bit before nodding and heading up the staircase.

**[Hmhmhm. Reveal yourselves.] **Ddraig chuckled as he exposed the people inside Ryu's room.

"How did you do that, nya? I used Senjutsu to even mask my presence and Shirone-chan did the same thing, nya."

Ryu's eyes bugged out when he heard that voice and usage of "nya."

It belonged to only one person and one person only.

He ever so slowly turned around.

And saw the white and black haired Toujou Sisters.

"Good morning, Ryu." Softly spoke Shirone with a smile that warmed him like the Sun itself. Ryu nodded and grinned in response.

**[While Senjutsu is a great ability to have, it is useless against us dragons.] **Revealed Ddraig.

"Nyaaa~ Dragons are overpowered~" Whined Kuroka as her ears and tails droop down in disappointment.

**[Toujou, you are clueless in knowing the full power and potential that ****a dragon contains.] **Ddraig spoke in a strange, cryptic manner.

Weird.

"But that's not why we're here, nya~..." Kuroka slowly approaches Ryu, her golden, cat-slit eyes gazing deep in Ryu's brown ones. The eyes behind those feline orbs showed such passion and love at the one she fixed her gaze at.

"Thank you, Ryu-kun." Thanked Kuroka with all that she can muster from her heart, to her words. Ryu nodded and grinned again in kind. He wished to also to his express himself, so he took out his notepad to write on.

Same one. Yes, the very same one. He fixed it after the battle.

His hat, one would ask? Not present.

It just wouldn't feel genuinely the same in wearing the hat if he makes it all honky-dory by fixing it using magic.

"I just couldn't bear to see Shirone and yourself deal with separation, all because of some Devil wanting you two to suffer. It irritates me that they really sink themselves down to such a level like they did to you two. And they some get to stupidity to wonder why many other races do not like them or the Fallen Angels. If only the ones that control themselves like Srizechs and Grayfia would stand up to take charge..." Even in led writing, they could still tell that he drifted off after that.

"That's why you're going to try and make a change, right?" Asked Shirone as she still upheld that same, gentle smile.

"Well... I think it's time we give him a little reward for all he's done for us, nya~" Kuroka's twin tails swished from side to side from excitement. If that was not obvious enough, her eyes glazed themselves in lust and her mouth twitched upwards to give off a smile, specifically a seductive one. Oh yeah, she is also blushing. Shirone found herself shifting and fidgeting a little with a massive blush spread across her cheeks and nervously making glances from Ryu's face, floor, to the man's crotch. Ryu blinked and blushed at the direction this was going and it was going fast.

Kuroka proceeded to gently push Ryu on the bed. Kuroka still had that sultry smile that gave her luscious lips even more beauty to them. Shirone made an squeaked in surprise at seeing her beloved pushed and blushed harder when Kuroka sat on his lap and started to straddle him ever so teasingly.

"Nya?"

Shirone stiffened when Kuroka turned around to look at her sweet, little sister.

"Come on, Shirone~ We need to give our boyfriend what he deserves, nya~"

Ryu looked like he is in the idea, but seemed reluctant as his eyes shifted to Shirone, as if he is waiting for her to make the decision.

"U-um... Okay..." Shirone managed to stutter out her willingness to take part. With Ryu only, she would do this, no questions asked.

With others while doing it with Ryu?

First time to do that. Especially, with her sister involved.

"Nyyaaaa~ That's the spirit, nya~" Kuroka smiles in seeing Shirone sit in a seiza position, next to her and Ryu. Blushing ever so madly. Then, the black Neko looked back at the man she's about to have _fun _with.

"Last time, it was a little bit awkward for us, nya. I could tell. That's why, I'll take the lead, nya~!"

In all honesty, Kuroka would not mind _at all _to experience what happened _that _night. She just knows that Ryu's multiple personality disorder kind of screwed him over and kind of... Threw the rhythm off-track.

He still made up with size, power, and speed itself though.

Three pros, one con. Who would argue with that on the first time, right?

Shirone knew what Kuroka meant and shivered in both excitement and nervousness how good Ryu will be if being guided by a sexual person like Kuroka.

"Let's get started, nya~"

_**(Warning! Lemon incoming! To skip, scroll down until you see this type of font!)**_

Kuroka lowered the top portion of her kimono, enough to expose her proportional and _highly _developed chest. Kuroka's eyes gleamed when she noticed Ryu's eyes trail down. With great curiosity, might she add.

"Do you like big breasts, nya~?" Kuroka crossed her arms under her chest and raised those lustrous, huge breasts of bountifulness. Her smirk became a grin as soon as she sees his eyes widen and felt two things twitch: His hands and his... Mini self.

She already knows how to kick start this.

"Shirone-chan~"

Shirone blushed even more at the request behind the cooing. But she nodded with absolute compliance still.

"If it is for Ryu, I don't mind..." And with those tender words said, Shirone also lowered the top half of her kimono to show another pair of large breasts. Not as big as Kuroka's, but they were big so why complain?

"I think that's enough teasing your dick, nya." Kuroka winked as she got off of Ryu's hips and noticed a wet spot around his crotch that is probably from the seductive Neko. Speaking of which, she ever so gently unbuttoned his pants and then pulled the zipper down. Shirone spared nervous glances away from Ryu's crotch yet her eyes somehow made their way back to the thing she tries to look away from right until Kuroka pulled down his boxers and that's when her eyes finally chose to look at Ryu's twitching dick. Naturally, Ryu's face blushed another shade of red.

"It... Looks so adorable when it twitches like that..."

"Now, Shirone... This is what you need to do, nya~"

Shirone's eyes widened as she witnesses Kuroka bending down and wrapping her breasts around Ryu's "sword." Ryu's back immediately arched in pleasure from feeling Kuroka's chest squishing his penis.

"Now you try it, nya!"

"A... A double... Paizuri...?" Shirone clamped her mouth shut after she said that. Kuroka grinned even wider.

"Nya? My cute sister knows the technique, nya?" Shirone stopped questioning it and bent down with Kuroka's level and pushed her own breasts against her sister's whilst burying Ryu's manhood in both of their breasts. She closed one eye when she felt it start to heat it up further and became bigger. Shirone and Kuroka started to move their breasts up and down.

"Nyu... Mm...Nnh..."

"Nya~ Ahh... Hn..."

Both letting small moans of pleasure at the sensation of their hardened nipples rubbing against each other and Ryu's shaft along with the heat of his manhood is producing made their chests hot as well and that only increased the pleasure for them. Ryu gritted his teeth at the amazing feeling of their busts and started to thrust his hips on instinct.

"Nyah~! I'm starting in really feeling it~" Moaned out Kuroka.

"Nyu~ Ryu~" Shirone could barely speak it out with the pleasure she was receiving from this.

Ryu's thrusts kept getting faster and the sisters could feel his member grow stiffer and the two pushed their breasts together even more. Sweat began to dribble down their large mounds as the atmosphere grew more lustful and hotter.

"Are you close to cumming, nya~? It's fine, cum on our breasts, nya~!" Cried out Kuroka.

"Please... Release all of it on us... Ryu..." Panted Shirone.

Ryu could no longer hold it and with one last thrust, he ejaculates a large amount all over Kuroka and Shirone's breasts and faces as both had their mouths open and tongues out to catch any of Ryu's semen that fell.

"He came~!" Squealed the older Nekomata. Shirone didn't say anything, but lick the sperm off her cheeks, hands and breasts. Kuroka took notice and narrowed her eyes in mischief before lunging out on her white counterpart sibling and licked any spots of Ryu's essence she has yet to lick off. Shirone mewled in surprise and let out a gasp when she felt one of her breasts being suckled and the other fondled. This just made Shirone moan and meow from the sensation and subconsciously imagined of Ryu doing what he pleased with her breasts.

"Aahhh~ Kuroka-nee...! Do~n't!"

Ryu looked absolutely gobsmacked at the display of affection between the two sister. Kuroka finally stopped in order to clean herself off.

"Mm~ Your life energy is so thick, nya~"

"Kuroka-nee... We're Nekos, not Succubi..."

Kuroka waved the statement off. "It doesn't matter, nya. Here..."

"What are you- ah!"

Ryu sat up with eyes still bugged out at the position the two were now in.

Kuroka lays on top of the bed on her back.

Shirone is on top of Kuroka and laying on her stomach.

Their somehow exposed pussies facing the male. Which are very wet and very much twitching.

"Does this excite you, nya~?" Kuroka couldn't help but smile in a cheeky fashion with a hint of sincerity on the side.

Shirone blushed a deep shade of red that almost reached the Boosted Gear's color as she glanced back to see Ryu's expression and his dick twitching in anticipation.

"Please... Put it in however you choose, Ryu..."

Ryu looked at the two, then back at their moist entrances.

And gulped.

But of course, his expression turned to one that is determined and positioned his penis in...

"NNYYYAAA~!"/"NNYYYUUU~!"

Right in between their slits. The feeling made them arch their backs from the jolts of pleasure running up and down their systems.

Ryu gave no room for them to regain composure and started to apply hip movement, eliciting moans and screams of pleasure from the two.

"Aaa~hhh! It feels so goood, ny~a..." Kuroka already had her mind go blank and eyes glazed heavily from her clit being rubbed so vigorously. She couldn't think of anything else but Ryu, his cock, her clit being rubbed, the pleasure, and the need and want for more.

"More~! Nyu~ Mo~re!" Shirone narrowed her eyes to the point of having them nearly closed, even her corneas seemed blurry at how glazed in ecstasy they were. She couldn't move any part of her body as long as it kept being drowned in pleasure from sex. Kuroka took advantage of that and pulled Shirone in for a wet, hot make out session as she groped her breasts with such lust. Kuroka and Shirone moaned throatily when they felt their lover's movement increase and their juices just started to overflow in quantities. Eventually, the two separate after feeling Ryu's dick get harder and denser which only made them scream out in satisfaction more.

"Kuroka-nee! I've already... Aaah~! Cum so many times... But- ngh~! This one... I can feel the next is a... Ahn~! A big one~!"

"Me too, Shiro-chan~! Hyan~! Let's... Mmn~! Cum together~!"

Ryu gritted his teeth at feeling his limit reaching closer and closer. Putting more strength into his hips, Ryu gave one last thrust before climaxing at last.

"AHHNN~! IT'S SO HOT, NYA~!"

"HYAH, IT'S SCENT IS SO STRONG~!"

At last, the three of them came together at the same time. Kuroka and Shirone are left, panting on each other while Ryu leaned back whilst using his elbows to keep his back from touching the bed, trying to catch his breath.

_**(Lemon ends here!)**_

* * *

_**Later that morning...**_

"Muu~... I wanted to take the lead and Ryu somehow makes me the submissive one again, nya..."

The three of them had their clothes cleaned, straightened, and ready to be worn again.

By the use of magic, of course.

Oh, Kuroka is right now complaining about how Ryu took the lead again.

"I'm not sure why complain, nee-san..."

"Well, I'm not allowing it to happen again!" Exclaimed a determined Kuroka. One could see black flames of resolve burning in her eyes.

"Uhh..." Shirone and Ryu could only sweat drop at the scene before them.

"Ah!" Kuroka's eyes return to normal as they lip up in remembrance. The others just tilted their heads in confusion at this. Kuroka answered their unvoiced question by making a purple and black magic circle to appear above her palm to which a scroll falls out of.

"Ryu, I wanted to give you this before, but I knew what would happen if I did that sooo... I held out. That way, we could have spent a little time together." The lack of a "nya" unnerved Ryu. This meant it was something extremely serious. So not wasting any time or giving any hesitation, he gently takes the scroll and unravels it carefully. Kuroka and Shirone themselves stood beside Ryu to read the contents with him in silence.

...

...

...

Ryu's eyes narrowed dangerously and closed the scroll. A gasp and shocked look from Shirone is the only visible indication that whatever was written in the scroll is indeed serious. Ryu turned his attention to Kuroka and petted her head in a caring fashion.

"Purr~ Mya~"

He did the same thing to Shirone too so she wouldn't feel left out.

"Nyuun~"

Kuroka was the first to snap out of her instinctual daze.

"I'm afraid I will have to go soon to return to my training again though..."

"But why, nee-san?"

Kuroka looked away to not look at the sad and disappointed looks of the two people she cares for.

"I need to get stronger... To help Ryu-kun with the road ahead of him." She wills herself to look back at her sister and boyfriend. "He's going to need others and the others are going to need him."

"Bu- but... You're already strong! Rank 4 strong! Stronger than Ryu!" Cried out Shirone. Ryu's eyes narrow again at how serious Kuroka's mood is. He understood that perhaps it is not time to be told of what is going on and he will really need strong people like Kuroka to aid him.

"That's not going to be enough, Shirone-chan. You read what's on the scroll. If what we think is going to happen when Ryu goes, then he will need strong allies and friends and I'm sure Ryu will beat me eventually. He is a human and I'm sure you know the things he's shown what a human can do. He can use both instincts and common sense in perfect harmony to analyze, evade, and counter attack enemies. He can evolve his power to give him an edge on his enemies. He is even able to cast his magic without fatigue or even if he's critically injured, and ignore said injuries. Making him a powerhouse in a way. He has weapons that give him more power too."

Okay, now Ryu is _definitely _tense in what is to come, no fear though. Up to even Ddraig judging the gravity of the situation if the sound of Kuroka's tone rang true.

**[Something is telling me that events will occur. Important events. Is that right, Toujou?]**

"It is not in my place to tell him what lies ahead, Ddraig-kun. In time, you will meet my sensei and he will give you what he knows in time." Kuroka's ears drooped and so did her twin tails. "I'm sorry, Ryu-kun..." Ryu shook his head and kissed her in gratitude for the information she was able to give. He also kissed Shirone, just to make her feel happy too. Kuroka remembered something else and turned to her little sister. "Shirone, I'm going to get you to come with me to train. I know Rias will allow this if it's her to Piece to grow even stronger." Shirone nodded in agreement. If it meant getting stronger, Rias will no doubt agree as long as there is reasoning behind the request of taking her.

"We should leave to talk to Rias then. I know Ryu will leave right now to go too. Don't worry, Shirone-chan. We'll get to see him soon." Kuroka glanced back at Ryu and kissed him intensively one more time for good measure.

"See ya, nya~"

Aaaaannnnd she winked before leaping out of the window. How ironic.

"I hope to see you again soon, Ryu..." Shirone gently planted her soft lips upon Ryu's and kissed him tenderly. The two separated and Shirone waved before following her sister's actions of jumping out the window. Ryu waved back and stood in the middle of the room for a few moments until Ddraig decided to speak again.

**[Now what, partner? Going to start moving?] **Ryu shook his head, saying he doesn't need to take anything with him and heads downstairs.

Perfect timing too, Raynare's circle popped up from the ground and appeared Raynare herself.

"Oh? You're still here, Ryu-sama?" Ryu only responded by giving her the scroll and letting her read it.

...

"I see... So you will be leaving then?" Asked Raynare with a sad frown.

Ryu took out his notepad and wrote down on a page before he tore it out of the little booklet and putting it down on the table. Raynare picked it up and read it, her voice getting more and more excited in glee.

"You're coming with me. I cannot do it alone and I will need someone to help me. I'll also be personally training you to get stronger."

**[We also decided to leave Asia here. She is still not at a level for combat and her life at risk is something we do not need which we will ask Akeno or Rias to personally train her during our ****absence.] **Ryu was putting on his socks, shoes, combat gloves, and his new, black colored cowboy hat during the time Ddraig informed Raynare. She herself nods at the news with both nervousness and excitement.

**[Rairyu, you will be guarding this house and Asia. Understood?]**

"Grrrowl~" The lightning dragon growled and nodded in acknowledgement.

Ryu opened the front door just as he slipped his favorite and signature gray jacket on.

Be prepared, supernatural.

Here comes the "Dragon Protector."

* * *

**Thank you. No, seriously, thank you. I have all of you followers, reviewers, favoriters (wot?), and even readers to thank for helping me make it this far. Sounds cheesy, right? Maybe, but I feel like you all helped. Those little signs of support really gave me the push to give this simple "rough draft" (gonna be making this a running joke from now on) so quickly. Well... I guess this marks the story as "Completed."**

**Wow...**

**My first story EVER...**

**And I managed to complete it...**

**Huh...**

**Now _I_ feel completed. (Ba dum tss)**

**But yeah. The real stuff is going to come for sure. From here on out, this story is literally going to go my own way as in not even following the DxD storyline. Up to a point. Then the series will go back to the road I make it as. I think I might give myself a little break from writing. Not as long as a month, but a break nonetheless. Maybe write some chapters in advance during my "break" before publishing the first, real volume.**

**Well... That's it. See you all soon. Hope your lives are going well.**


	20. AN: News v2!

**OMFG! ASDFGHJKL! I CAN'T EVEN-! WHATEVER OTHER MEME FITS THIS SITUATION! THE REAL VOLUME IS OUT NOW!**

**And because I'm still a scrub, I decided to replace the previous A/N with this.**

**Edit: Never mind. I just deleted it and replaced it because I ****_really _****am that much of a friggin' scrub.**

**2nd Edit: Go through my profile to find my story! Cuz you're in for a surprise. Heheh...**


End file.
